A Bargain to Change the World
by A Samhildanach
Summary: What would've happened if Chiron never showed up to help Percy fight Mrs. Dodds, back at the Met? What if Percy, barely clinging to life, made a pact with a powerful spirit, sharing his body in exchange for immense power? How will this new Perseus handle the challenges laid before him? My take on an OP!Percy fic. Shifted 4 years ahead (Percy is 16 in TLT and 20 in TLO). Language T.
1. The Deal

Divergent timeline, from the beginning of the first book, also AU where everyone takes things a bit more seriously, everything is a bit more high stakes, and, most importantly, **everything is shifted by four years**. Because everything is more realistic, and **twelve year olds don't fight monsters** , even in the myths. Adolescents, yes, but children? No. Also, other minor things are different. You'll see, if you're paying attention.

As a side note, this is very much a pet project and I will not hesitate to skip over the parts that I don't want to write, and if there's a plot hole, I very much don't care in any way. If you think it's cringe-y, then I probably think it is a thousand times worse, and yet I do not care. (Also, there is one part in this chapter in particular that is very cringe-y, but actually it's only things he has in the books. You'll see what I mean by that) Also, if there are grammar, spelling, or syntax errors... oops. Also, nobody's abandoning anything, so don't even bother asking that particular question. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: This is a fan made work, not intended to infringe upon the copyright held by Rick Riordan or anyone else. I do not claim ownership of the setting, characters, or plot created by Rick Riordan or any others, but I do claim ownership of any extraneous elements not under previous copyright.

* * *

A sixteen year old boy with hair dark as ink and eyes the color of the sea stumbled back from what had, only seconds before, been his teacher.

Once an old lady with a serious mean streak, what stood, or rather hovered, before him was a leathery bat-like creature with razor sharp talons and a fiery whip, with a look in her eye that told only one story: that of endless suffering.

They were in a museum; the class had taken a field trip. The hag had taken the boy aside after he somehow used the water from a fountain to pull a bully into it, in defence of his friend.

"Where is it, boy!" The thing screeched.

"I have no idea what you're talking about!" The boy pleaded.

 _Crack!_

The whip came down on the child's shoulder, tearing his blue T-shirt, as well as the skin beneath it.

The child screamed in pain, clutching his shoulder, his hand dripping with blood.

"Do not lie to us, Perseus! We know you have it!" The hag continued to scream.

"Have what!? What do you mean!?" Perseus shouted, his will strong for one so undisciplined.

A look of absolute fury passed over the hags face, and this time it was her talons that struck the boy, leaving him with four long gashes from his right shoulder all the way down to under the ribs on his left side.

Perseus screamed in pain, blood slowly but steadily flowing down his torso. It seemed the hag was trying to torture the information out of him.

Unfortunately for both the hag and Perseus, one cannot draw blood from a stone *****. However, it was very easy to draw blood from a Perseus, and this is what the hag did, over, and over, until Perseus's body was covered with bleeding gashes from claw and whip alike. His shirt was little more than tatters at this point, and his pants did not fare much better, barely covering his groin.

Perseus could hardly think. His body was on fire. If he didn't have his mother to worry about, he would have wished wholeheartedly for death. But, he did have his mother. If he died here, she would be devastated, with no one in the world but his disgusting stepfather to console her. He could not die.

He needed to be stronger than this horrible demon. He needed more power. Power. Perseus kept pleading in his head for power. Anything to see his mother again. _Please!_ he screamed in his head, too tired from the blood loss to speak out loud. _Give me power!_

Suddenly, he heard a voice in his mind speak, somewhat muffled, but just loud and clear enough to be understood.

 _I can offer you power, child, but the price is heavy._ The voice said. It was a smooth voice, and very pleasant to listen to.

 _I'll pay any price! I'll give you anything you want, I just need power right now!_ Perseus responded.

 _Then it is done. I shall give you what you seek, boy.  
_

Perseus felt something enter his body, it flowed through every pore on his skin, in through his wounds, and they burned worse than before, and he cried out in great pain.

The voice spoke in his mind once again, this time crystal clear.

 _Child, I will cut to the chase. You have dominion over water. You will need to use it to survive. I will lend you my power. You are lucky you have some, locked away, for I can only amplify your power. You are ten times stronger now than you were before I inhabited your body._

 _Inhabited? That sounds disgusting, anyway, how do I use my power!? There's no water in here!_

 _Foolish boy, water is all around us. In the air we breath, in our body and the bodies of others. And especially in our blood. Half our blood is water. Will it into our body. You need the blood or you will not have enough strength to survive!_

 _How do I will blood back into my body!? I've never done this before!_

 _There is no trick, no secret. You must simply will the water to move. See in your mind the blood flowing back into your cuts. Feel it! Will the water and it will bend to your every whim!_

Perseus tried his hardest to imagine the blood flowing back inside him, and eventually it did, which took a few precious seconds, during which time the hag had asked him a question that he did not hear.

The hag spoke again. "Did you not hear me, boy? I said, 'this is your last chance.' Tell us where the helm is, or suffer, Perseus Jackson!" She hadn't noticed the blood being sucked back inside him until it was too late.

 _Rise, boy! The time has come!_

He rose.

 _Now, deliver a witty one-liner!_

The mysterious voice had strange tastes, but Perseus was not in a position to argue.

"I already told you, Mrs. Dodds: My name is Percy!" He yelled. He didn't know how exactly he knew how to do it, but he raised his arms, and all the moisture in the room rushed to his hands; no more than a few droplets.

But it was enough.

"What in Hades' name!? How did you-when did you-" she was cut off by a bullet of water shooting through the middle of her chest at tremendous speed.

She fell to the ground, defeated.

She spoke her dying words in a raspy tone.

"How are you-" she coughed, black blood flowing from her mouth, "so powerful?"

Percy shrugged indifferently as the monster disintegrated.

He sank to his knees immediately, desperately trying to keep the blood in his body, but blood is only half water, and he was severely weakened from propelling the water at a speed high enough to pierce the monsters tough skin, not to mention sucking all the moisture from the air in the room. His control was still very subpar, and he expended far more energy than he needed to.

 _Get to Mr. Brunner. He will explain everything. By the time you reach him, I will not be able to supply you with power. I am still weak from being formless for so long, and I cannot sustain such high levels of amplification for very long, yet. I am... going to sleep for a while. After you find Brunner, of course._

 _Okay. I kind of want to take a nap, too._

 _No, child, if you fall asleep you will die! I do not wish to lose a form with such potential just yet._

Percy stumbled his way out of the nigh deserted museum, covered in blood. He wondered what everyone would do when he came back outside, his clothes tattered and bloodied.

He never got to find out.

 ***"You can't draw blood from a stone" means that you can't take from someone what they do not have, in this case, information. Other uses might be in reference to having no money or something similar.**

* * *

He woke up in his dorm room, all his wounds gone, but the first injury he suffered, on his left shoulder, left a small scar. How long had he been asleep? Just what in the world happened? Grover was nowhere to be seen, his bed empty.

 _Hello!?_ he shouted into his mind. There was no response. Was the presence gone? He said there was a price, but Percy hadn't paid it, so he assumed the presence was merely still sleeping.

Either way, Percy knew he needed to find Mr. Brunner. He would've assumed it had all been a dream if not for the tiny scar left behind.

It was late in the day when Percy had woken up, around seven in the evening, and he didn't know if Mr. Brunner would still be in his classroom, but sure enough, when he entered the Latin classroom, the man was sitting in his wheelchair behind a desk, grading papers.

"What brings you here, Mr. Jackson? Not looking for extra credit, I hope, because I don't give any out," the man said with a sly smile.

Percy was having none of it. "Mr. Brunner, we need to talk. I know exactly what happened at the museum."

Mr. Brunner wasn't fazed. "Yes, you suffered quite a nasty nosebleed. You stumbled out of the museum delirious, covered in blood. It gave us all quite a shock."

"I know Mrs. Dodds was a monster. She tortured me! I barely managed to kill her!" Percy angrily shouted.

"Percy, you're not well! You must come with me to the nurse immediately!" Mr. Brunner seemed genuinely worried.

"No, Mr. Brunner. Explain this!" Percy looked around for a source of water, and found one: a bottle of water on Mr. Brunner's desk.

Percy reached out his hand, and focused all his might on moving the water in the bottle to the edge of the desk, and eventually he succeeded in toppling it off the desk. It took a great deal of effort to do so without the assistance of... whatever it was, and Percy was panting by the time the bottle hit the floor.

Mr. Brunner looked absolutely shocked.

"So that's how you defeated the Kindly One..." he whispered quietly to himself.

"The what?"

"Shut the door, Percy," Mr. Brunner said quietly.

And so it was that Perseus came to know that the Greek Gods were real, and that his Latin teacher was the great immortal trainer of heroes, Chiron. He learned of the camp that was in place to train people like him: demigods. Chiron said he wasn't quite sure who Percy's father was, but both of them knew Chiron was lying. There were only so many gods who could give him the ability to manipulate water. Percy wasn't a fool. He loved the beach, and his mother had told him that's where she met his father. The only thing that made any sense was Poseidon, god of the seas. Why was Chiron so loathe to admit it? Something about the look in Chiron's eyes told Percy that if he voiced his opinion on this matter, it would not turn out well. This needed to be a secret, for some reason.

"Percy, it is... unfortunate you learned of this now. I am sorry. If only... if only I had realized Mrs. Dodds... I am sorry you had to go through that," Chiron said sadly, genuinely upset with himself.

Percy, being more prone to curiosity that holding a grudge, was thinking of the first thing Chiron said.

"Mr. Bru- sorry, Chiron. Why did you say that it was bad I found out now? What's going on?" Percy asked, half curious, half worried.

"The Lord of the Skies and the Lord of the Seas are fighting. Both have promised war by summer if their demands are not met," Chiron explained slowly, clearly not wishing to explain such things to someone how was still essentially a child.

"Does this have something to do with a 'helm?' Because that demon, er, Kindly One, kept asking me about a helm. She thought I took it," Percy said earnestly.

"What!?" Chiron shouted, before clamping his hand over his mouth. "I apologize, we must remain quiet. Are you sure she thought you took a helm?"

"Certain," Percy answered.

Chiron sat, deep in thought, for over a minute. One minute doesn't seem very long, but time always seems to move more slowly in silence.

"If a Kindly One believed you to be the thief of The Helm, then the Rich One must have had his symbol stolen as well as the Lord of the Skies. And if that is the case-"

"Chiron, why don't you refer to the gods by name? The Rich One, the Lords of the Skies and Seas? Why don't you just say their real names?"

Chiron looked slightly amused. "My boy, names hold great power. You should never use the name of a powerful being unless you are willing to draw their gaze to yourself. This is why we call the demon you fought a Kindly One, rather than their true name, lest we attract her attention."

"Right," Percy gave a shaky smile. "So the Lord of the Skies had his... thunderbolt stolen?"

"That is correct, Percy. During the Winter Solstice. But gods cannot take each others' symbols of power directly. I had assumed that the Rich One had managed to steal the bolt, but if his helm was stolen as well..." Chiron trailed off.

"Someone is trying to make it look like I did it," Percy said glumly. he had, for the most part, forgotten about whatever had inhabited his body and saved his life, just the day before, but he had not forgotten he was most likely the son of Poseidon, and he had some common sense. Two of the three eldest gods had their symbols of power stolen, and he was the son of the god that still had his symbol. Someone was clearly trying to frame him.

Chiron smiled slyly at his student, before putting his index finger to his lips. "We don't know for certain who your father is, Percy. We must keep this a secret between us for as long as possible."

"But why, Chiron?" Percy whined.

"Because right now, you are only protected by the fact the Lord of the Skies knows not where the so called 'lightning thief' lay in hiding. If you were to suddenly appear, outside the boundaries of camp, he would strike you down in an instant, or at least send an army of monsters to do it for him. That is why we must get you to camp. It is the only safe place for you. Right now you only need worry about surviving until you reach the borders."

"How am I supposed to get there?" Percy asked. He hoped he wouldn't have to walk there.

"I'm afraid you'll have to find your own method of transport. Part of the test to find you worthy, you understand. Not to worry though-Grover will be with you. He knows the way."

"Grover? Is he a demigod?" Percy asked, half confused, half excited.

"Heavens, no!" Chiron exclaimed, though his volume was still quite low. "Grover is a satyr."

Percy eyes nearly leapt from his skull.

"They have a knack for sniffing out demigods. We have satyrs stationed at an incredible number of schools across the country. When they sense something truly special though, they contact me directly. I rarely make such... house-calls, as this."

"So I'm... special?" Percy asked cheekily.

It was at this time that whatever had possessed Percy decided to speak up, within his head.

 _Yes, child. You are very special. Even before our deal was made, it would not have been a stretch to think you had the most potential of anyone your age in the entire world. I have existed a long time, and I doubt I have met one as strong as you at your age, with the same level of training, of course. Indeed, even without your father's power, you still possess a will of ten point steel. What other adolescent would have remained conscious as long as you did? And as we all know, a strong will is all one truly needs to become strong, for he will learn at any cost, he will get stronger no matter the-_

"Percy, did you hear me?" Chiron asked, concerned.

Percy looked down, embarrassed that he had not been paying attention. It was that damn spirit's fault, anyway. He liked to talk _way_ too much. "No, sir. Would did you say?"

Chiron had a kind look in his eye; he had not yet explained that Percy's ADHD was actually constant passive battle reflexes, and very common among demigods. He understood very well Percy hadn't intended to ignore him, though he had no way of knowing the true reason for his disciple's distraction.

"I said, yes, you are special. We cannot be absolutely certain of your heritage, but it is a certainty that you are very strong. And not just physically. Without any adrenaline flowing through you, you still managed to manipulate that much water just now... and to think, a child of his who has this ability at all has only been born once or twice before, and the disparity between the..." Chiron started to trail off, thinking deeply.

Percy started to get impatient. "Chiron? What's the plan?"

"The plan?" Chiron looked confused, still in his own thoughts. "Oh, yes, the plan. Well, I think it best you make your way to camp post haste. With Grover, that is."

"I see. But, how will you get back?"

Chiron smiled. "I'm a centaur, my young lad. I'll be at camp before you've traveled a mile."

"Wait, Chiron. Am I allowed to tell my mother where I'm going?"

"I'm afraid not, my boy, but don't fret. She will be informed, and this place is just a summer camp. You'll see her again before too long."

"Okay." That was good enough for Percy. Although, he promised himself that he would rid his mother of Gabe as soon as he returned. Now that he knew of his scent, there was no need for Gabe to conceal it any longer. He realized that was why his mother married him as soon as Chiron told him that demigods had scents at all. Though, soon she would be rid of that abusive jerk. Percy would make sure of it.

* * *

It was a three day journey by foot from Yancy High to Camp Half Blood, and it gave Percy ample time to talk to the spirit living inside him.

 _Thanks a lot for embarrassing me in front of Chiron, that was real cool of you._

 _Oh shut it, kid. I saved your life, so be grateful._

 _Only because I promised to pay you any price. What does that mean, anyway?_

 _You'll learn of the price you must pay soon enough. Until then, don't worry about it. Since, when we made our deal, you said you'd pay anything, I'm not under an obligation to tell you what it is you must pay._

 _Asshole._

 _Ingrate._

 _What are you, anyway? Do you have a name?_

 _A name, huh? Eh, they're not terribly important. Only those whom I've made deals with in the past know I exist, so I don't really have a name. No one named me._

 _Why not? You said you'd lived a long time, surely someone must have named you by now._

 _Why would they? There's never any doubt as to who you're talking to in here. Now, if you had two spirits, then I'd need a name._

 _But, didn't Chiron say names have power, or something? Wouldn't having one make you even more powerful?_

 _That's not the kind of power names have, kid._

 _Why won't you call me Percy?_

 _To prove a point. I don't need to call you Percy. I can just call you what you are, which is a kid._

 _So you wouldn't mind if I started calling you 'spirit,' would you, spirit?_

 _Not at all, kid. It's what everybody else has called me._

 _Well it's far too impersonal for me, thank you very much. I'll have to come up with a real name for you, because I can't stand being called kid. Just call me Percy, please, for the love of the gods!_

Percy felt a sort of tension within his mind, as if he could tell the spirit had narrowed his eyes.

 _Why in the world would I do something for the love of the gods, when I have no love for the gods myself?_

 _You hate the gods?_

 _Not exactly. I hate pretty much all of them, individually, for one reason or another, but I wouldn't say I hate the gods. Rather, I have no problem with the idea of the gods, even as they are now, but the gods themselves I can't stand._

 _Well, what's the alternative?_

Percy felt the tension increase far more, to the point that it almost hurt to be inside his own head.

 _There aren't many. The titans, for one. Though they are far worse than the gods. They are everything I hate about the gods, but even more intense, and I hate the idea of them as well. Not a single good one in the lot of them._

 _What about Rhea? Wasn't she-_

 _Shut up, kid, you got no clue what you're talking about._

 _But she saved baby Zeus by-_

 _I know what happened, boy. I was there. I'm a lot older than you seem to think. But Rhea wasn't a good Titan. Not even close. How many of her own children did she allow Kronos, that's the Crooked One if anyone asks, by the way, to eat before saving Zeus? The answer is a lot more than one, which is unacceptable._

 _Wow, are you a good spirit? I totally assumed you were evil, to be honest, what with all that talk about a heavy price and stuff._

 _Oh, don't worry. I'm evil. I'm very, very evil. But I do have morals. And hurting children is something I can't allow. Everyone deserves a chance at life. Once they've had it, though, all bets are off._

 _So, when is someone not a kid?_

 _Thirteen and up._

 _Thirteen!? But you call me kid, and I'm way older than that!_

 _So sue me._

 _You're insufferable._

 _Obviously not. You're stuck with me, and yet you remain alive._

 _The word has two meanings, wise guy. It can also mean you have a huge ego and are like super arrogant and stuff._

 _How very eloquent._

 _Ugggggggh!_

 _Hahahaha..._

 _So... what is it that you actually_ do, _exactly?_

 _I already told you. I can amplify your power, up to around ten times. Obviously, it isn't exactly ten times. That would be some crazy luck. No, it's only_ about _ten times._

 _Okay... But, what do you mean by power, exactly? What if I couldn't control water? What if it was something else?_

 _What precisely are you asking, kid? What other powers there are? Or are you more looking for what I do in clearer terms?_

 _Well, uh... both?_

 _Well, the easier one to answer would be the second question. When I use my power, it amplifies any unnatural effects of the host body by a huge magnitude. For example, if you had the ability to control plant life, I would make your ability ten times stronger in terms of raw power, though not necessarily ten times more control. Or, in a more personal example, if you had the ability to communicate with animals, which you do, horses, pegasi, and all aquatic life, to be more specific, then I would make the connection between you ten times stronger, which I believe would manifest as being able to communicate across a ten times larger distance, although that amount of power directed at a non-magical animal may cause side effects that I'm not aware of._

 _Umm... uhhh..._

 _What an idiot._

 _I can still hear you, you know._

 _Of course I do. As for your first question, I believe I could amplify lightning control, wind control, water control, plant control, telepathy, unnatural intelligence, unnatural swordfighting and archery ability, unnatural strength, unnatural beauty, charmspeak, regeneration, magic-_

 _Magic!?_

 _Er, yes? That was the one that surprised you? If all this was real, why on Earth would you think magic wasn't?_

 _It never really crossed my mind, I guess..._

 _Moron._

 _Hey-_

 _Back to the list! Necromancy, unnatural toughness, unnatural speed-_

 _Isn't that the same as unnatural strength?_

 _More or less, but power is being able to exert a large amount of force over a period of time, and either the larger the force or the shorter the time, the greater the power. Unnatural strength increases the force, unnatural speed decreases the time. That is the difference. But you are right, in actuality they are practically the same. Stronger legs can give you faster movement, but only if you can move your legs as fast as you want to go._

 _Cool. So, which of those do I have?_

 _Um, none?_

 _..._

 _Oh, you meant of the whole list, not just unnatural strength or speed. Well, I haven't finished the list. There's also fire control and earth control, and, well, a lot more niche ones, you'll probably never see someone with them, so I won't explain unless we meet._

 _Okay. So, which of the whole list do I have?_

 _What powers do you possess? Let's see. I'll have to dive very deep to see all of them, some people never even realize all the gifts they have._

 _Okay, well then, take your time._

~~Some time later~~

 _Alright. Very interesting. Did you know that your soul is far more mature than you?_

 _Excuse me, spirit?_

 _I had a chat with your soul. How did you think I'd discover your true abilities?_

 _Er... magic?_

 _Yeah, right. The point is, your soul is like a thousand times cooler than you. Lame-o. Anyways, listen up, this might take a while. It turns out that you have a lot of tiny abilities I didn't notice. We'll start with the big ones that you probably already knew about._

 _Okay!_

 _A bit enthusiastic for my taste, but that's fine. First, the water control. You already know about that. Next, Water regeneration and water augmentation. When you're wet or in the water, you heal exponentially faster. It also augments nearly every aspect of you. Strength, speed, your control abilities, even your swordfighting and leadership. Speaking of control abilities, you've also inherited the earth control ability, though it is limited. The Lord of the Seas is also known as the Earthshaker, and for good reason. You can't manipulate earth as you can water, but you can cause earthquakes. That's about it. Your father is also known as the Stormbringer, and you have inherited the power to create storms centered around yourself, also granting you minor control over wind, rain, lightning, and thunder even without using storm control. Though, your storm control is the weakest of your control abilities, so for it, as well as the minor abilities it grants, to be of any use, you'll need to expend an insane amount of power. Lucky for you, you've got me._

 _Wow. That's a lot of abilities._

 _You think that's a lot? That's just the elemental stuff._

 _Huh?_

 _You've also got unnatural swordfighting ability, self explanatory; unnatural leadership, people tend to listen to you in battle and you inspire loyalty; unnatural courage, also self explanatory; the tiniest amount of unnatural beauty, gross; animal telepathy, which I already explained; unnatural... boat control-_

 _Boat control!?_

 _Yeah, it's weird, but you can control a ship with your mind. Like, you can take the place of an entire captain and crew of a small boat in somewhat rough conditions. With my help, you'll be able to control a cruise-liner in a hurricane._

 _Wow. I'm sure that'll be helpful._

 _Not as helpful as unnatural locating ability in seawater._

 _Excuse me?_

 _You know the exact location of yourself when you're on the open sea. Though, when you reach freshwater you'll be totally lost._

 _How do you amplify that?_

 _I'm not sure. I've never heard of it before. I'll find out though. At some point._

 _Sure._

 _You've also got the ability to see via the heat of currents deep underwater, where no sunlight is able to reach._

 _Great. Sounds amazing. But I'm unbeatable underwater anyways, so isn't that kind of useless in terms of combat?_

 _Indeed. In fact, in all my years, never have I seen anyone with as many useless powers as you._

 _Gee, thanks, spirit. Anyway, you keep saying how ancient you are, so... just how old are you?_

 _Not as old as Gaia, but older than the titans._

 _Wow. And how many people have you possessed?_

 _Including you? Twelve._

 _Seriously!? How long did they live!?_

 _Not any longer than was normal for their time periods. I can't heal disease or anything. In ancient times, most lived to about fifty before disease took them._

 _Yeesh. I'm glad I was born now. We live a lot longer._

 _On average, yes. But a lucky person back then could have easily lived to be a hundred, same as now. Luck has everything to do with life. The gods don't like to admit it, but everything that happens happens for no real reason._

 _That's kind of depressing._

 _Is it? Isn't it better knowing that there isn't some master plan? Isn't it liberating?_

 _But what about prophecies? If all this Greek stuff is true, then isn't the oracle real as well?_

 _Yes, prophecies. The truth is, prophecies are just that. They tell the future. But they don't determine the future. So there's no point trying to influence them, or beat them. Though that's easier said than done. People will always try to escape a prophecy they don't like. But they always come true. No matter what._

 _How on Earth is that liberating?_

 _How isn't it? Knowing that nothing can change your future or decide it for you? Prophecies don't control you, you control prophecies. Humans can do anything they want, and they do just that every day. That is why life is worth living. That is the secret so many human philosophers have searched for, since the dawn of time. There is no purpose, there is no meaning, and in that, humans possess total freedom.  
_

 _Jeez, you're freaking me out. If you like freedom so much, why do you inhabit people's bodies? Isn't that less freedom?_

 _I thought you were smart, but it seems I was wrong. Have you truly not figured out what my price is?_

 _Whuh? I don't understand._

 _The price you must pay for my help. I'll tell you what it is, since you seem incapable of putting things together on your own._

 _Big meanie._

 _Little boy._

 _Spirit._

 _Kid._

 _Just tell me what the price is already!_

 _Right. Every year, for one week, I will take total control of your body and your power, and I will do whatever I want. And you'll watch, idly, as I do it._

Surprisingly, Percy's first reaction wasn't anger or fear, or anything like that.

 _If I said I'd pay any price, why'd you limit yourself to a week? You could have had six months, or the whole year, even._

 _Yes, but luckily for you, I'm very lazy. I'll let you do most of the work. I mean, take right now, for example. How much fun would this be, if I was in control?_

 _It's not very much fun for me, I can tell you that.  
_

 _Exactly. Right now, it would seem I have the better end of the deal, no?_

 _Yeah, you really showed me. What do you plan on doing, anyways? During your week?_

 _Oh, probably just go on a killing spree._

Percy stopped dead in his tracks.

 _I'll kill myself this instant._

 _You wouldn't dare._

 _Try me._

 _Fine, I'll do something else during my week._

 _How do I know I can trust you?_

 _Oh, kid. Why on Earth would you think you could_ ever _trust me_ _?_

* * *

Hehehehe. One more thing.

 **Review, or I'll kill you.**

Ta ta!


	2. The OP-ifying Part 1

This used to be the first half of chapter two. If you read the original chapter two, please skip to Chapter 4.

 **Disclaimer: I have no legal affiliation with any and all works by author Rick Riordan. All story elements below are fan created/modified and not intending to infringe upon Riordan's market. Please support the author by buying his books (as if you haven't already).**

* * *

 _I've been wondering about something, spirit._

 _I know. I can hear your thoughts, remember? You don't have to intend for me to hear them for me to hear them._

 _O-Oh. I see._

 _Anyway, you were wondering just how strong Heracles would have been if I'd possessed him, right?_

 _Uh, yeah. Why didn't you?_

 _I did, kid. Obviously. He had some unnatural strength, enough for him to be a hero, but not enough to be the most famous Greek to have ever lived, certainly. I made him what he is._

 _Man, that's sort of a let down._

 _And...?_

 _What?_

 _Kid, you do know the story of Heracles, right?_

 _Yeah, he had to do a bunch of stuff, what were they called? Right, a bunch of labors. Twelve of them._

 _And why'd he have to do those labors?_

 _Ummm... I sort of remember that maybe he like, went crazy, or something, and Hera made him kill his family, or something, right?_

 _Kid, you're pretty damn slow, aren't you?_

 _What do you mean?_

 _He went crazy, and killed his family. Almost like he wasn't himself. Like he was being controlled. As if he were... possessed._

 _Oh my- you killed his family!_

 _You're welcome. Without me, you wouldn't have one of your most favorite myths._

 _I can't even believe it._

 _Yep, I murdered his family. He was the one who told everyone Hera did it, though. That's when she started to hate him. To her, it seemed like he just murdered his family in cold blood and then blamed a goddess. That's a big no-no. But anyway, to clear himself of the grief of being too weak to kill himself after I told him I'd kill his family-_

 _Hold on! You told him you'd do it?_

 _Of course. I tell everyone what I plan on doing. I'm not a monster. I'm just evil. If you can even call it that. I just happen to enjoy murder and suffering. You enjoy helping people, and I enjoy hurting them. Does that really make me evil?_

 _Yes. Yes, it does. That is practically the textbook definition of evil._

 _Oh. Well, I'm definitely evil, then. But like I said, not a monster._

 _Didn't Heracles have any kids?_

 _Yeah, he did._

 _And you killed them._

 _Yeah, so?_

 _Didn't you say you didn't hurt children?_

 _Listen. Heracles was not a nice guy. I did them a favor._

 _How can you say that!? Just because their dad was mean-_

 _Listen, Percy, since you don't seem to understand the concept of subtlety, I'll spell it out for you. He abused his kids. Badly. I sent them to Elysium. I waited until they'd done enough good deeds to guarantee Elysium, and then I killed them. The wife I killed because it was fun. Though, I didn't see her in Elysium when I went to check for the kids after Heracles became a god, that bastard._

 _I... that's..._

 _But to absolve him of his grief, although it was really mostly to appease Hera, who was ready to kill_ him _in cold blood at this point, he went to old king what's-his-name and got 10 labors, but he had help on two of them, so it ended up being twelve. Thirteen, depending on who you ask._

 _Weren't you there?_

 _Yeah. What's your point?_

 _So wouldn't you know how many it really was?_

 _Eh, I don't remember. That stuff's not important to me._

"Percy, we're almost the-e-e-re," Grover bleated out.

"Cool. Tell me more about this camp, will ya?"

"Yeah, sure thing, Perce."

 _Ignoring me, huh, kid?_

 _To talk to my actual friend? Yes, yes I am ignoring you._

"What do you want to know about?" Grover said with a smile.

"Well, just like, how it's set up? Actually, really just all about it. Chiron didn't explain much."

"Well, I guess a typical day would go like this: Wake up in your cabin with the other children of your godly parent-"

"Isn't that kind of weird? Like, isn't there some resentment towards the children of people your godly parent was unfaithful with?"

"Uh, maybe? I'm a satyr, so even when I'm at camp I don't have a cabin. So I wouldn't really know about the resentment in the cabins. Though, it does seem like some people from the same cabin try to avoid each other whenever they can, now that I'm thinking about it."

"Wait, wait, wait. If you don't have a cabin, then where do you sleep?"

"Umm... I don't really remember."

"How could you not remember!?"

"Look, I read the books a lot of times but I don't remember it ever getting mentioned! It's not really a super important detail, so either Riordan didn't put it in or I don't remember reading it!"

"Reading it!? Books!? And who's this Riordan guy!? Just what the hell are you talkin' about, G-man!?"

"That's privileged information."

"Huh!?"

"It's given out on a need-to-know basis, and you do _not_ need to know!"

"Okay, let's just forget about all this. I was actually wondering, I assume there are people like me who don't know their godly parent, where do they sleep? Is there like an undetermined cabin?"

"No, no. They all sleep in the Hermes cabin."

"Why!?"

"Uh, maybe it's because he's like the god of travelers, or something?"

"Just how are the undetermined travelers!? They all on a journey, or somethin'!?"

"I don't know, it just seems to make more sense, I guess! Also, when you yell, your Manhattan accent comes back!"

"Comes back!? Just when did I lose it!?"

"I don't know, more like you never had it in the first place!"

"That makes no damn sense, G-man!"

"Don't blame me, Perce, blame Riordan!"

"Just who the hell is this Riordan guy, anyway!?"

"NEED TO KNOW, PERCY! NEED. TO. KNOW."

"YOU SAYIN' I DON'T NEED TO KNOW!? YOU MENTION HIM EVERY FIFTEEN SECONDS! AND HOW IS IT THAT YOU NEED TO KNOW BUT I DON'T!? I'M THE MAIN CHARACTER, AREN'T I?"

"YOU THINK THIS IS A BOOK OR SOMETHIN'!?"

"THAT'S WHAT YOU KEEP SAYIN', ISN'T IT!?"

 _So, this guy is your friend, kid?_

 _Yeah, this is how most of our conversations end up. It's like our thing._

 _...Read the dictionary entry for 'friend' five times, then come tell me that again._

 _You don't believe me? Come on, we're great friends._

"GIVIN' ME THE SILENT TREATMENT, HUH, PERCE? THEN ALLOW ME TO REITERATE! YOU WANNA TAKE THIS OUTSIDE, PRETTY BOY!?"

 _Point taken, spirit._

 _"_ Grover, let's quit it with the straight man and wise guy routine. Also, we're already outside, but you knew that."

"Huh? But that wasn't really straight man and wise guy. It seemed more like each of us were both roles, right?"

"No, you were definitely the wise guy. Wait, actually this is backwards. The straight man sets up the punchline and the wise guy delivers. I think this was actually boke and tsukkomi."

"What?"

"It's Japanese. Basically, a tsukkomi is a retort. The wise guy says something ridiculous so the straight man can slam him back down to reality."

"Oh, I get it. So after I play the fool, you make a retort about how it makes no sense. Yeah, I get it."

"Yeah, you were probably confused because in western comedy, the fool plays off the straight man, instead of the straight man playing off the fool."

"Wait, what the hell are we talkin' about the logistics of comedy for!?"

"I don't know, it's interesting!?"

"Was that supposed to be a question!? I asked you in the first place!"

"Hold it, hold it. We started doing it again, Grover."

"Oh, yeah that's right. That's kind of scary, to be honest. I'll finish talking about camp then."

"Good idea."

After a very long conversation about camp, in which Percy was shocked to discover there were no cabins for any minor gods, yet there were multiple empty cabins for the sake of the gods' pride, the pair stopped to camp.

"Hey, Percy," Grover said softly from his sleeping bag.

"What, is it, Grover?"

"I hate to tell you this, but humans suck."

"Well, apparently I'm only half human, but thanks for your concern. And, I already knew that."

"How is it that even the sky is polluted? Forget littering, but the sky? The utter power of the collective ugliness of the human race is astonishing."

"It is pretty crazy."

"That's why I want to find Pan."

"Did he get lost?"

"Very funny. No, he just disappeared. A thousand or two years ago, he told a sailor passing by to tell the world the great god Pan had died. The humans believed without a second thought, and have been trashing the earth ever since. But the satyrs didn't believe. We've been looking since that day."

"So what's stopping you from going?"

"You have to be 32. I'm only 31."

"Oh. Wait, what!?"

"Satyrs mature half as quickly as humans. I'm almost sixteen in human years."

"Hah, so I'm more mature than you?"

"Hard to say."

"So, as soon as you turn 32, you'll go?"

"Yeah. And I'll find him. I'll be the first to come back."

"Hold up. The first to come back _ever_?"

"Yeah. But I've got to believe I'll be the first."

"But that's crazy, isn't it?"

"Not to us. Say, why do you think people vote?"

"Uh, because you're supposed to? And it's not all that hard?"

"It's actually very hard for a lot people, and even the best off still have to take time off work and stand in line for a long time. And yeah, there is a sense of duty that compels people to vote. But barely over half of the people in this country vote, and the people who don't do it don't do it because of the same reason you think it's crazy to search for Pan knowing almost certain death awaits you if you try. They don't see the point. There's almost no chance you'll make a difference. That's a fact. But why is it that people still do vote? It's because they believe they'll make the difference. It'll be a dead tie unless I vote. My vote will be the one to tip the scale. You have to believe it's at least a possibility. A real possibility. Otherwise, there is no point. But I believe I'll do it. I'll look in the one place no one has been before. I'll be the one to find Pan. If I don't go... then all hope is lost. If I don't go, Pan might as well really be dead. So I have to go. For the sake of my home. For the sake of nature across the world."

"Wow... that's..." Percy was at a loss for words.

"Why don't you just wish me luck? I'll need it, after all."

"Yeah. Good luck, G-man. You'll be the one to find him. After all, you were lucky enough to find me, the greatest friend of all time, right? It'll be a piece of cake."

"Thanks, Perce. But I'm not going yet. My birthday is in September."

"And it'll be a historic day. The day when the successful search for Pan started."

"Thanks, man. Also, thanks for recycling and stuff."

"Of course. Although actually the processes in recycling are really only marginally less damaging than landfills and ad campaigns for recycling cost more than recycling saves, so from both a political and an economic standpoint it isn't really all that beneficial. But it does help a tiny bit and it's not all that hard so I make an effort," Percy rambled on, and on, for no real reason. He had had to do a project about the life cycle of a plastic spoon, and since he didn't actually do the project, though he did the research, he felt like he needed to tell somebody, at least once.

Grover was already asleep.

The next day, Percy suggested they go faster. Grover took off his Styrofoam feet and they started jogging. When Percy asked if it was alright to expose his hooves, he replied, 'They were only fooling you in the first place. They probably look normal to regular mortals."

About an hour after they took off, the spirit spoke up.

 _By the way, kid, I never finished telling you about your powers._

Percy tripped over his feet and almost wiped out, but managed to right himself before he ate dirt.

 _There were more!?_

 _Yeah, of course. You didn't think that was all you had, did you?_

 _Of course I did! It was like thirty powers! And they started getting really dumb, too, so I just assumed the list was over._

 _Well, your assumption was incorrect. Also, it was thirteen, not thirty._

 _God, you suck._

 _I'm not God, actually, but it's very flattering. Anyways, as for your abilities, there's a few more. Let's see. Ah, here's a fun one. Unnatural lack of archery skill-_

 _What!? How is that a power!?_

 _Well, technically it isn't, but it is unnatural, so I'll go ahead and amplify it for you._

 _What's that supposed to mean!?_

 _Well, without me, you'll essentially never be able to hit a target within 2 yards of where you're aiming. So with my amplification, assuming it's a linear relationship, you'll miss every target by at least sixty feet! Isn't that amazing?_

 _Amazingly bad, maybe! I'll repeat myself, just how is that an ability!?_

 _Well, you could fire an arrow at someone and they'll be so shocked at how far away the arrow ends up from them, they just might suffocate from laughing too hard._

 _If I could strangle you, I would._

 _But you can't, haha! Anyways, you've also got unnatural fire and lava resistance. Because your dad is ocean man, it makes you hard to burn. With my help: almost impossible._

 _That's... cool._

 _Hey, kid, at least it's better than boat control._

 _Shut up, boat control is totally useful!_

 _Sure, kid._

 _What else do I have?_

 _Let's see here... oh yeah, here's one. Unnatural impertinence._

 _Gimme a break!_

 _Seriously, it's helpful. Even when facing gods and titans, or even the ancient primordial gods, you'll never lose your ability to disagree and make sarcastic jokes. It's actually super strong already, if I amplified this one you wouldn't show like, any deference at all._

 _This is a joke, right?_

 _No, I'm totally serious._

 _So, is that the last of them?_

 _Well, you do have an unnaturally strong scent, even for a child of the big three. I don't even want to think about what'd happen if I amplified that. Probably every monster in a fifty mile radius would run right toward you. Although, maybe in a fight it might actually influence them to make irrational decisions. Interesting._

 _I think you're scraping the bottom of the barrel, here._

 _No, not really. You can also breath underwater and decide if you get wet or not, but I can't really improve those. Maybe. I dunno._

 _So how many is that?_

 _Wait, I'm not done yet._

 _Seriously?_

 _Yeah, you're a freak of nature, kid. Nobody else in the world has this many gifts. It's ridiculous._

 _Huh. I don't feel all that special. I've got really bad ADHD and even dyslexia._

 _Wait, no one told you?_

 _Told me what?_

 _You don't really have those._

 _What!? Yes I do! You callin' me an idiot who can't even read!?_

 _I didn't say either of those things. Calm down, kid, I'm not making fun of you._

 _Sorry, I just. Maybe I got a complex, or somethin'._

 _Yeah, seems like it. But you don't really have dyslexia. Well, you do, but there's a good reason for it. The language of the gods is still ancient Greek. Because you're half god, you're hardwired differently than normal humans. It's not that you can't read, just that it's really hard to learn English, because half of you is so set in its ways that English just isn't a possibility. It's barely even a language._

 _Damn it all._

 _What? I thought you'd be happy._

 _Why would I be happy!? I've spent years thinking I was an idiot, years obsessing over this! I made peace with it! Only to find out now that it's just a side effect!? It's not fair!_

 _Nothing is, kid. Learn that quick, or you aren't cut out for hero business._

 _Sorry. It's tough._

 _Yeah, well, suck it up. Because your ADHD is actually your inborn battle instincts, looking out for the first sign of trouble. Your fight or flight reflex doesn't have an off button, and your mind is constantly analyzing every situation, waiting for battle. You can't focus on your school work because you're too busy concentrating on staying alive. And your instincts in particular are especially sharp. I bet you've never made above a D+ in your life._

Percy blushed visibly. If anyone was looking, it would have been incredibly odd. He was very embarrassed, but they wouldn't know.

 _C, C minus, thank you very much._

 _Also, you've got a bit of unnatural strength, same as pretty much every kid of a combat oriented god. It's not your most important power by far, so I don't even feel like amplifying it, to be honest. You'd be way too strong. Your swordfighting skill is more than enough to defeat most opponents on its own, especially if I'm amplifying it. Man, I can hardly wait to see the crazy shit you'll be able to do once you've trained a bit._

 _Didn't you say before that I didn't have unnatural speed_ or _strength?_

 _Well, I just meant that you don't have any more than normal. That's not where your talent lies, so to speak. Plus, I'm not going to amplify it, so there's no point in telling you about it. Compared to everything else, it'll seem pitiful._

 _Oh, I guess that makes sense. You're kind of unreliable, you know that?_

 _Whatever, kid. Speaking of things I didn't bother to mention, you're also way harder to kill than a normal human. You've got unnatural resilience, like nearly every demigod, regardless of parentage. With my help, your bones will be like steel and your muscle will be like heavy duty rope, or something. Even if you get stabbed, it probably won't even make it to the bone, unless it's really sharp or your opponent is really strong._

 _That's awesome. So, do I live longer, too?_

 _What? No, why would you? Idiot._

 _Hey!_

 _Anyway, let me tell you about your last ability. It's pretty damn important, but it's probably useless most of the time. It was buried incredibly deep, under all your other nonsensical abilities. So deep that if I wasn't here, you might never have used it, or even tried, even known you had it. That might even have been for the best. To be honest, I'm debating even telling you. This could cause untold devastation to the whole world, even the whole of existence._

 _Jeez, this is pretty serious. Lighten up, will ya?_

 _I'm afraid I can't, Perseus. This isn't something funny, like locating ability in seawater or something. Once I tell you this, there's no going back._

 _Tell me._

 _Are you absolutely sure, Perseus? This isn't a joke. This has the potential to either save or kill millions, even billions of people. It has no limit to its strength, and its existence has been a hushed rumor since time immemorial. I thought that's all it was, myself, until now. Are you ready to accept the consequences of using this ability?_

 _Even not knowing I had it, I might still use it if you amplify it._

 _No. It isn't something that I can amplify, I think. Even if I could, I wouldn't dream of it. It might rip apart the essence of reality itself._

 _Gods above, if you don't tell me, I'll be afraid of accidentally using it for the rest of my life._

 _Even that might be preferable to the temptation of using it. I don't know how well it can be controlled, or even how it's used. If you use it even once, I can't predict what will happen._

 _..._

 _Do you want to know what it is?_

 _Wha-what did my soul say about it?_

 _What did- what? What are you talking about?_

 _Earlier, you said my soul was cooler than me, remember? What did he tell you about it?_

 _I was messing with you kid. Your soul doesn't have a mind, it's just your essence. Even if it could talk, it'd be almost exactly like you, anyway. I thought you knew I was joking, but I overestimated your intelligence, it seems._

 _That's not nice._

 **Answer the question!** _Do you want me to tell you about your ultimate ability or not!?_

Percy was shocked. The spirit had never taken anything seriously, and it had never really been angry. Its voice seemed to always be the same volume, even if he could tell from how it was said if the spirit was yelling, but this time... he was almost deafened from the sheer magnitude of the shout. This really wasn't a simple ability. But he had to know. He couldn't not know. The spirit had said... he had said it could save people, too. He had to know.

 _Tell me, spirit._

 _Very well. I've warned you enough._

Percy had started sweating immensely, in nervous tension, anxiously waiting to hear of this cursed ability.

 _You, and you alone, have the ability to control fate. You can alter destiny. You can rip prophecies to shreds. You can save those destined to die, you can kill those destined to survive. At first glance, it seems like anyone can choose to kill anyone at any time, right? But that's not the case. The future is determined. That's why prophecies are always true. The future cannot be changed. Not by anyone. Until you were born, it seems. This ability is perfectly and completely hidden from those who know how the future goes, and only by looking from within your mind can it be found, and even then, it is extraordinarily well hidden. Only if one is looking for it can it be found. If I hadn't been looking for it, you likely would never have known, even with my help. Luckily, I always look for it, because wouldn't it be incredible if someone had it?_

 _Why exactly is this so dangerous, though? I don't really get it._

 _I should have known you wouldn't. The future is set in stone. Every being has his share of good and bad moments, and no man may get more than his share as ordained by fate. But you have the power to choose. But without divine foreknowledge, you can't possibly know the outcomes of defying fate._

 _This is... unreal._

 _Indeed. Clotho started to weave your thread, Lachesis has already measured it, and when the time comes for you to die, Atropos will cut it. They have no reason to think your thread is any different. But you have command over your own thread, if you were to seize it from them. As long as you continue to weave your thread, you cannot die. Of course, once you take control of your thread, the fates will know. Who knows if they'll inform the gods, but once you use this power, there is no turning back. It will have all sorts of impacts-_

 _Wait. Did you say that I can become immortal?_

 _Er, yes, but you'll still be way weaker than the gods. They'll probably imprison you for being too strong, or something. They're like that. Well, most of them. Your dad will probably try to fight for you. He tries his best._

 _But if I'm half god, and you make me ten times stronger, shouldn't I be five times stronger than the gods?_

 _If two demigods fought a god would it be a tie? Get your head out of your ass, kid. You might be ten times stronger than any other demigod, but even the weakest major god is at least a hundred times stronger than the strongest normal demigod. So, at the very least ten times stronger than you would be once you're fully trained. Though, if you surprised them, you might have a shot at defeating one. But that'll only work one time._

 _But I could live forever?_

 _Kid, do you have delusions of grandeur or something? You're better than this. I offered you my power because I sensed something special. Don't get imprisoned by the gods by being too hasty. If you can't die, then that also comes with the adverse effect that you can feel excruciating pain forever, too. They could chop you into pieces, and even though you won't die, it'll still hurt worse than anything, and you won't heal by yourself. Know your limits._

Percy's eyes, which had been glazed over, gradually got their gleam back.

 _Right. So this power._

 _Yeah, kid?_

 _I can ignore prophecies, take control of my thread of life, alter my destiny. Can I alter other peoples destinies as well?_

 _Yeah, I guess. If you save someone destined to die, their destiny is obviously altered at that point, right?_

 _Yeah, makes sense. But I can't let other people alter their own destiny?_

 _I don't think so._

 _What would happen if I seized my thread right now? Would I like, get my thread physically?_

 _How should I know? I'm not omniscient. There's no precedent of someone controlling their own thread. It defies all reasoning. I have no idea what would happen._

 _Could I cut other people's threads?_

 _How should I know, kid? I doubt it, though. That would just be dumb._

 _Well, good talk._

 _What? Are you gonna use this power?_

 _Of course._

 _What!? Right now!?_

 _No. When someone needs saving. I'll save them. That's how I'll use my power. I think I'll take control of my thread after I'm finished growing, though. I'm only 16, after all. I think I'll wait till I'm 25 to take my thread._

 _I think you'll probably be able to let yourself age if you control your string. There's no need to wait._

 _Oh. Well, I'll at least get to camp, first. Then I'll think about it._

 _I see. Good luck to you._

 _By the way, why is it that I have this power?_

 _Kid, I honestly don't know. It isn't destiny or fate, clearly, so I guess... you were just lucky. Or maybe unlucky. We'll have to wait and see._

 _Cool. Oh, also, do I have any aptitude for magic?_

 _I dunno. I doubt it though. Most mages are female, unless they're children of Hecate, or something._

 _Damn. Having magic sounds cool._

 _Trust me, it's more trouble than it's worth. Trust your sword arm and your soul's power, and keep practicing with those, and you won't need magic. I can guarantee it._

 _My soul's power?_

 _Yeah, all your abilities. The more you use them, the stronger they'll get, and the better you'll get at using them. Water control seems to come pretty naturally to you, but if you were to try to use your Earthshaker powers, you'd probably get tired super easily._

 _Oh. So, the soul is like a muscle?_

 _Sort of. Your powers will get stronger as you increase your maximum power storage capacity, basically stamina, because you'll be able to put more stamina into them. You'll get more and more efficient as you use them, too, using less energy to accomplish the same feat. Your maximum power output is determined at birth, so there's a limit to how powerful you can get, though. Yours is crazy high, and luckily it's something I can amplify, so you're looking to be the strongest demigod that's ever lived, no doubt about it. And that's ignoring your fate power._

 _Slow down, spirit. You keep using all these crazy terms, how am I supposed to learn what they mean? How'd you learn all this technical stuff anyways? Like the names for things?_

 _Oh, I just make it up as I go along. I do like to sound cool. One of the few things I can do when I'm not in control._

 _... ... ...of course. That would explain a lot, huh, spirit?_

 _Yeah. Anyways, your assignment is to practice your water control by withdrawing water from the air, then dousing yourself with it. You'll keep your stamina up, and since we're moving, you won't run out of moisture. By the way, you won't get much stronger while I'm amplifying you, so I'll keep to myself, got it?_

 _Yeah, whatever._

Percy started concentrating on pulling the moisture out of the air. Luckily, it was pretty humid, so there was water to spare. He would drain the water out of the air, holding it in a sphere over his head. Just when he thought he couldn't hold out any longer, he'd release it, and he would feel a surge of energy. Every time he did this, he was able to pull a little more water out, hold it for a little longer, keep the sphere's shape a little better.

Eventually he got bored, and started trying to make shapes out of it. At first they were deformed creatures, though he was trying to make a tiger. After about forty five minutes, he was able to make a figure with a head, a long body, a tail, and even four legs, though it didn't have a face, or joints, or paws. The spirit couldn't quite tell whether his lack of control was the issue, or his lack of artistic talent.

Percy next tried to make the creature move, but this proved to be too difficult while jogging. He decided he'd try once he got to camp. For now, he made another sphere, and moved it from left to right as fast as he could. It wasn't very fast. He wanted to fix that. Eventually he could get it to move at about a quarter the speed it had been when he killed the Kindly One.

His discovery of his water regeneration's usefulness and this style of training allowed him to develop his power far more quickly than if he'd been a child of Zeus, perhaps, and what should have taken several weeks was accomplished in several hours. The spirit decided that giving this boy his full power seemed overkill, and made the decision to only amplify his power by five, rather than ten. On a case by case basis, of course. He'd still pretend that he was giving him full amplification though. That should be fun.

* * *

Review, or I'll kill you.


	3. The OP-ifying Part 2

If you read the original chapter 2, please skip to chapter 4. This was previously the first half of chapter 2.

Disclaimer: Don't own the series this was based off of, clearly.

* * *

It was a few hours later when the first monster found them.

They had stumbled across a family of Cyclopes, and the spirit thought it would be hilarious to amplify Percy's scent while he and Grover were hiding.

It was only boosted for a second, but in that second, all three Cyclopes were instantly aware of an incredibly powerful demigod.

"Did you two smell that?" said an older looking female to two younger males, presumably her sons.

"Yes, Mama. It smelled almost as if the Stormbringer himself were here!" said one of the sons.

"Don't be an idiot, Charlie!" the other son yelled at Charlie, presumably. "It wasn't nearly that strong. But it _was_ incredibly powerful. He must taste delicious!"

"Mason, Charlie. Find that boy and bring him to Mama!" Mama shouted emphatically.

"Yes, Mama!" both boys replied.

"Grover, this looks bad. Do you have a weapon?" Percy whispered.

"What!? I thought you had a weapon! How'd you kill the Kindly One!?" Grover whisper-shouted back.

"With water," Percy replied indifferently.

"What!?" Grover continued to whisper-shout.

The spirit decided to chime in.

 _Kid, these three One Eyes are weaker all together than that single Kindly One from before. You'll have no problem, even unarmed. But how about you trying something other than a water bullet. Even without my help, you could massacre them with a single blade of water, but that's so boring._

 _I don't care if it's boring, I want to live!_

 _Don't worry. I have a plan that'll be incredible. It'll be totally awesome, trust me._

 _...Fine._

All Grover saw was Percy creep towards the forest without a word, pick up a branch, and break the bits growing off the side. He wasn't a fan, but the branch was already dead, so he decided not to make a fuss. Percy held the straightish branch almost like it was a...

"Uh, Percy? What are you doing? You're not going to fight them with that, are you?" Grover whispered frantically.

"Of course I am," was Percy's perfectly calm reply.

Percy inhaled, and shouted.

"Mama! Charlie! Mason! Here I am! Come and eat me!"

Grover nearly had a heart attack.

"What in the world are you doing!? Are you trying to get us both killed?" Grover practically cried.

"No, no. These guys aren't that tough. Besides, if this doesn't work, I can always kill them like I killed the Kindly One. I'm just having a bit of fun!"

In his head however, he was saying something else.

 _What the hell are you making me say, spirit!? I sound like an arrogant maniac!_

 _So?_

 _SO, I'm not an arrogant maniac! And just who finds killing One Eyes with a tree branch fun in the first place!?_

 _Me, of course. It'll be totally awesome!_

 _I don't think so-_

 _The One Eyes are almost here. Get ready._

Instantly serious, Percy gripped the tree branch even more tightly. He gathered some water and splashed it on himself, incredibly surprised when he was far more invigorated than usual. He felt like his power was pouring out of him at an incredible rate. He felt strong enough to kill a god.

 _What's going on, spirit?_

 _I fully amplified your water regeneration and augmentation. I'm also going to fully amplify your swordfighting skill, but that's all you're getting for this fight._

 _Got it._

The three Cyclopes appeared from the other side of the hut wielding rusted pipes and giant wooden clubs.

"Son of the Sea, your club is a little lacking, don't you think?" Mama said loudly. Hearing a woman with such a deep voice was very odd for Percy, but he didn't let it bother him.

"Well, if it were a club, then I'd agree. But it isn't a club," Percy said calmly. Whether this was his own courage or impertinence is really a subjective matter.

"It isn't?" Charlie the One Eye asked innocently.

"No, Charlie, it isn't," Percy explained. "I can't blame you for not noticing, your eyesight is probably pretty bad since you've only got one eye, but this is in fact my sword."

"Take back what you said about my eye! I've got 20/20 vision!" Charlie cried indignantly.

"Oh? Then it must be because you're a big dumb idiot then, mistaking this sword for a club," Percy teased. Grover, who was hiding in the woods, wondered what he was making him mad for. He absolutely didn't want this to turn out last time. It had only been one Cyclops, and there had been three halfbloods, and it still almost got the better of them. Because of the time they wasted... Thalia died. Well, turned into a tree. But isn't that just as bad?

Grover was broken out of his thoughts when the One Eye named Charlie bellowed, "I'm not a big dumb idiot! That is clearly made of wood! It can't be a sword!"

Percy was doomed. Another friend, dead before he had a chance to see camp.

"Charlie, do you mean to say that a sword can't be made from wood?"

"Even if they could be made out of wood, it isn't even sharp! It's just a stick!"

"Big dumb idiot says what?"

"What?"

There was silence, between all four creatures. Not a sound was uttered. It was as if there was no one there.

Suddenly, everyone but Charlie was laughing uncontrollably, astonished at the stupidity of Charlie.

Charlie was about to cry out indignantly at the demigod before him, but suddenly he wasn't there. And the laughter had stopped suddenly as well. Just what was going on?

He turned around in time to see his brother and his mother turn to dust.

"What have you done!? You monster! You killed them!"

"Me? A monster? I think you're mistaken. I merely did my duty as a demigod. I kill monsters. Like Mama and Mason. They who laughed at the misfortune of their own family, looking down on their own flesh and blood as worth less than themselves. So I sent them to the Pit."

"But how did they die!?"

"I stabbed them in their eyes with this wooden sword of mine. It passed through their eyes and into their heads, killing them instantly. They only had time to suffer for the smallest fraction of an instant. Would you like to join them in the Pit?"

"Mama! Mason! I'll avenge you! I'll kill this demigod and every other demigod! They will all suffer!"

Percy's eyes had been bored except for the instant he realized both Mama and Mason were also laughing maliciously at Charlie, and like in that instant they became deadly serious.

"I'm sorry, Charlie, did you just threaten my family?"

"Yes, I did! I'll kill them all!"

Percy murmured 'unacceptable' before leaping into the air with immense speed directly at Charlies head. He stabbed the remaining Cyclops in his eye with a quick thrust as he kicked him in the chest, slowing his own momentum. Charlie disintegrated as soon as he hit the ground, and Percy landed on his feet.

He dusted himself off and threw the stick back in the forest, nearly hitting Grover in the face. Grover fell over himself trying desperately to dodge the stick that had just slain three Cyclopes in an instant.

"Come on, Grover. It's not the stick that's deadly, you won't die if you touch it. But... it might put your eye out. Hahahahahaha!"

"Percy, that was... how did you do that? I thought you were dead for sure."

Percy just shrugged, and went inside the hut, Grover assumed to look through all their things.

Grover remained in the edge of the forest, and collapsed from exhaustion. Now that the adrenaline was wearing off, he was totally worn out. He was afraid for his life, and for the life of Percy, only to find out that he was practically invincible. Were the children of the Big Three really so powerful? Thalia was strong, sure, stronger than anyone he'd met before or after, but Percy... this was on another level altogether. Anyone could tell that he wasn't normal. That-what just happened- _wasn't_ normal.

Meanwhile, Percy was arguing with his resident amplification spirit.

 _How the hell did I do that, spirit!?_

 _Well, since my amplification level is about ten, and when you get doused in freshwater all your abilities double and you're filled to full stamina as long as you aren't totally out of stamina, then, when we do the math, and take into consideration all the skills necessary to pull off what you just did... Your strength was increased by a factor of twenty and your swordfighting skill was increased by a factor of two hundred. Also, I've only just realized this, but your soul actually changes when you're doused in water. When you're wet, you also gain unnatural speed equal to your unnatural strength, meaning you also had the equivalent of your speed increased by twenty times as well, though really it was just by ten times, because you only have it when it's equal to twice your ordinary unnatural strength-_

 _Enough with the math already! Explain it in layman's terms for crying out loud!_

 _Because I amplified your swordfighting skill and water augmentation, all your abilities increased by a factor of twenty, except your swordfighting skill which increased by two hundred, which, by the way, is absolutely absurd. Once you've actually trained your swordfighting ability... I think it might actually be a crime to douse yourself in water. It just isn't fair. Remember, the unamplified you (after you get reasonably well trained, at least) is one hundred times weaker than a god. If your swordfighting skill is increased two hundred times, then..._

 _Then that means I'm twice as good as a major god at swordfighting!_

 _Well, the weakest major god. The ones who don't use swords. Like, you're twice as strong with a sword as Demeter. But don't get your hopes up, because with just your swordfighting skill, you'll get crushed by the god's strength and speed, regardless of their talent with a sword. Unless I'm amplifying them too, you won't stand a chance. Even if I am, you'll still be at a disadvantage. You don't have much in the way of extra strength or speed, even if your swordsmanship potential is the best I've seen in centuries._

 _Right, right, right, but how was I able to use a stick to kill them?_

 _Simple, kid. Wood is actually pretty strong. Though, if you had slashed, it wouldn't have done a damn thing, but you instinctively knew that and jabbed. You also instinctively knew that the eye leads directly to the brain in Cyclops anatomy, and your weapon doesn't need to be sharp to pierce the eye and reach the brain. Not that they had much in the way of brains anyway. But because your swordfighting skill was so immensely heightened, even without training you instinctively knew all that, and even footwork techniques to utilize your strength and speed. Though, it was a little sloppy, to be honest. You'll get better once you train._

Of course, only the spirit knew the truth. He had only amplified his powers by half. His strength and speed were upped by a factor of ten, and swordfighting skill by a factor of fifty. That was still a lot, but the spirit wondered. Just how ludicrously strong would this boy be if he amplified his power fully? Is it possible that he could challenge a god on equal footing?

 _Do I even need to train? I'm stronger than anyone else already!_

 _Cool it kid! Without me, you're still just an untrained fool with a penchant for getting into trouble. You get too arrogant, I cut you off. That's how I'm running this joint._

 _But it's my head, why are you running it?_

 _Shut up kid, and look around. Maybe they got some good stuff, if they've gotten demigods before you._

 _Right._

Jackpot. Percy found some gold coins, and a tarnished glowing sword. But still, it was glowing!

"Grover, jackpot! There's a glowing sword!"

Grover said he was coming, but once he got there, Percy was very disappointed.

"Grover, look at this short sword! It must be magic, right!?"

Grover looked embarrassed, because Percy was so incredibly excited.

"Um, Perce, actually... it's just celestial bronze. All demigod weaponry is celestial bronze. It's the only thing that can kill monsters. It all glows."

Percy looked very downtrodden. He clearly was convinced the sword was an epic find.

"But, wait, Grover. I killed them with wood, so..."

"Well, wood is a special case. It's more or less supernatural, because every tree has a dryad, so every branch is technically partially mythical. So it has the monster damaging property. But at the same time, it's just a stick. So it can hurt mortals, too. See, a celestial bronze sword would pass right through a person, because they aren't important enough to kill. But it's incredibly damaging to monsters, so much so that it's practically a necessity for a hero to have some sort of celestial bronze weaponry. That's why what you did is so incredible... It shouldn't be possible for any demigod to kill three One Eyes in such a short amount of time, especially not with just a _stick_. Even a fully equipped senior year rounder would still have trouble with three One Eyes by themselves, so for an untrained sophomore equipped with only a gods damned thin rotten tree branch- are you even half god!? It'd be easier for me to believe you were half titan, or even half primordial! Percy, is there something you're not telling me!? You're not normal! You're way too strong! I didn't notice it before, but your scent is overwhelmingly pungent! Every monster within ten miles is probably headed here right now!"

"Grover, you're getting hysterical, calm down!"

"How can I calm down!? My best friend is a gods damned killing machine! It's so cool! I don't even really know what you did when you were fighting! You made a joke and then suddenly vanished, and then two of the One Eyes were dead, and you were standing behind them! I didn't even see you move! It's way too cooooooo-"

Percy bonked Grover on the head with his augmented strength, and he sank like a rock.

"That's right, Grover, shut up and go to sleep."

Percy grabbed the coins and the sword, while redousing himself with water. He was planning on asking the spirit for a favor, but the spirit already knew what he was going to ask for.

Percy was looking for the spirit to amplify his water augmentation and his strength and speed, so he could carry Grover and run faster to camp. Being on the road was boring for Percy, and it seemed like the spirit wasn't keen on traveling by foot either. The sooner they made it to camp, the better.

With Percy's amplified and augmented strength and speed, what was supposed to be a four day trip only took two days, though if he had run it himself the whole time, it probably would have only taken twelve hours instead of sixty four- and even less time if he went all out. As it was, he was only lightly running-at about twelve miles an hour.( **A/N: A four minute mile is really fast, and that's exactly fifteen miles an hour, whereas the trip Percy is running according to Google is close to 200 miles, so, remembering a marathon is only 26.2 miles, being able to run at that speed for that distance is, in a word, ridiculous)**

They were approaching the camp (according to the spirit) when Grover finally woke up, at around two in the morning. Percy had slung him over his shoulder, so he set him down.

"Uh, Percy? What happened? All I remember is that we encountered three One Eyes. Obviously we made it out alive, but... what happened?"

 _Thank the gods he doesn't remember._

 _You're tellin' me, spirit._

"Uh, I found a sword in their hut and managed to kill them. They knocked you out though."

"Oh, I see. Wait, what!? You actually killed three One Eyes!? I assumed you managed to run away!"

"Well, uh, I guess I'm pretty awesome, huh?"

"Yeah sure, but... where are we? How long was I out?"

"Well, we're almost there, I think, and you were out for like... a long time. Probably like sixteen hours?"

"Wow, that's a long time!"

"Sure was. I was carrying you the whole time and you're way heavier than you look."

"Geez, that's rude- wait, we're almost there!? We were over a hundred miles away! How did you cover that much ground in under a day!? While carrying me, no less!?"

"I guess I'm just a fast runner...?" Percy smiled sheepishly after finishing the sentence.

"That's an understatement-"

Grover was interrupted by a loud bellow from down the road.

"Did that sound like a cow to you, Grover? Sounded like a cow to me."

"Have you ever even heard a cow!? They aren't nearly that loud, and a hundred times less angry!"

"Then what was it, huh, wiseguy?"

"It... it was probably... the Bullman."

"And I thought One Eye was a stupid name."

"Listen, Percy. I'll distract him, and you run up that hill. Hopefully he'll be too busy killing me to-"

Grover was interrupted this time by Percy smacking him on the side of the head.

"Cut it out, G-Man. This guy's got nothing on me. I'll just kill him."

"Percy, you have practically no chance on your own, without training! He's like ten times stronger than the One Eyes!"

"Well, then. I guess it's a good thing I was _more_ than ten times stronger than the One Eyes, so this guy's nothing."

Grover was speechless for a few seconds. In the dark, it was hard to tell what expression he wore on his face.

"Good luck."

With that Grover sprinted up the hill, while Percy yelled, "Hey, Ground Beef! Over here!"

He heard a great bellow, and what sounded like distant stomping.

 _So, spirit. Can I count on your help?_

 _Yeah, but just for the water augmentation. It's easier for me to just amplify that, rather than everything you try to do. This guy's only a little tougher than the Kindly One. You'll be fine._

 _Got it._

Percy drew the water out of the air and doused himself with it, relishing in the extreme boost in power amplified water augmentation provided. He felt like he could strangle a demon with his bare hands. However, he wasn't fighting with his bare hands. This time, he drew water all the way from the ocean, with great speed. The camp had a beach, and he was near camp. In his heightened state, he could sense the presence of nearby seawater. He supposed it was yet another useless ability the spirit neglected to tell him about. With the ocean water, he crafted himself a sword. He had practiced this while carrying Grover, drawing the moisture out of the air a little at a time, the new air replacing dry air as he ran, adding to the collection, until eventually he had enough. He found that it was far easier without the distraction of carrying Grover and running. It also seemed that seawater was far easier to manipulate than the water he extracted from the air.

He wasn't quite sure how it was possible, but he found he could command water to become solid. It didn't become ice, as far as he knew he couldn't change the temperature of the water, but it was hard to the touch. As long as he concentrated on it, he could make it just as hard as metal, maybe even harder. Maybe it had something to do with pressure? Yeah, that sounded right. His mind was incredibly clear when he was doused, and so this explanation made perfect sense. It was just as sharp as the sword he had found in the Cyclopes' hut, but that sword didn't feel balanced in his hand. He preferred a longer blade, with a heavier pommel, and he could tailor the blade of water to his liking, although he probably wouldn't be able to make the blade nearly as hard or sharp without the amplification of his water augmentation. But he wondered... just how deadly could the blade be if he also used amplified water control? At a two hundred times power boost... just what was he capable of?

But now was not the time for self reflection. Now was the time to fight, and the time to win. Since getting this power, it was hard not to get excited by the thought of battle. He didn't like admitting it to himself, but he clearly craved a need to use his incredible new power. Better than even cute girls was a strong opponent. He was actually afraid he might challenge a god to a duel for the fun of it. Only time would tell if he could control that urge.

As a test while waiting for the Minotaur to charge him, Percy decided to douse himself with seawater, just to see what would happen. What happened was something he both expected, and didn't expect. As soon as it make contact with his head, his body practically exploded with power. His concentration broke, and the sword he was focused on momentarily lost all hardness and started falling to the ground, but before it could, he remade the sword, only to find that it was even harder and sharper than before! Just how much more powerful was seawater than freshwater?

Before he could figure that out, the Minotaur closed in.

The first thing Percy noticed was that he was totally in the buff. Gross. The second thing he noticed was that his head was headed straight for Percy without a moment's hesitation, his razor sharp horns pointed at Percy's chest.

Purely out of instinct, Percy jumped as hard as he could, vaulting over the beast, while simultaneously slicing downwards with his water sword, cleaving the so called Bullman's head clean in half.

Percy turned around disappointed, saddened that the fight was over in such a flash, but what he saw made his head spin.

The Minotaur stopped, stood up straight, and his head, which was split from the top of his skull to the bottom of his neck, came together and sealed back up. The monster shook his head a few times, bellowed, and faced Percy.

"Isn't that cheating!?" Percy cried indignantly.

The beast charged at Percy, and nearly the same thing happened. Percy jumped over him, but this time he cut his head clean off his shoulders. Nothing can survive without its head. Right?

No such luck. The body simply picked its head back up, put it where it was supposed to go, and it instantly healed.

"What are you, a chicken!? Your head just got cut off! Fucking die already, will you!?"

 _Kid, according to myth, the Minotaur can only be killed with its own horn-_

 _What do you mean according to myth!? Weren't you there!?_

 _Of course, but it sounds cooler like that._

 _Just shut up! All I have to do is cut its horns off and then stab him with one, right?_

 _More or less._

 _Then watch me!_

When the Minotaur charged again, Percy did what he said he would: he jumped over the beast while simultaneously cutting through both of his horns. Well, that's what he tried to do, anyways. What actually happened was the Minotaur reached up this time, and Percy was forced to jump off the beast's face to avoid being grabbed, but he still thought he could cut off its horns, so he swung his sword. And he almost did it. But in the end, he was a few inches off, and instead of slicing through horns, he sliced through skull. When he turned around, the monsters was picking up its skullcap-literally.

"Damn... He's already adjusted to my speed- or wait, maybe he's only predicting my strategy, and he actually can't see through my speed at all? Well then, new strategy."

Once again, the bull charged. But this time, Percy didn't jump. The beast raised both hands, trying desperately to catch the demigod. It was just as Percy thought: the Minotaur wasn't adjusting to Percy's speed, but his strategy.

But since his arms were up, he was in the perfect position. Percy concentrated solely on his own movements, his own speed. As the Minotaur charged, Percy sliced one of the monster's legs off. It looked to him almost like the bull was charging in slow motion. Actually, it looked almost like it was standing still. After he cut off one leg, he quickly cut off the other. Then he cut off his left arm, followed by his right arm, and finally, his head. As the momentum of the torso was still carrying it towards Percy, Percy jumped over it.

When he turned around, the beast's limbs were strewn across the hill. The speed at which he amputated them was so great that the right arm and the left leg were fifty feet apart. But the fight wasn't over. The arms and legs were crawling toward the body. It seemed the spirit was right. As long as the body was not pierced with its own horn, the beast still had life. It was immortal until this condition was fulfilled. So Percy calmly walked to the head, sliced off both horns at the base, grabbed one, walked over to the torso, and stabbed the creature through its heart. It finally turned to dust.

Percy wasn't particularly tired from this fight. But he was hungry. He hadn't eaten anything since breakfast, and now that the boost from the water was wearing off, his endurance was draining away. He was so hungry and tired! He ran nearly two hundred miles while carrying a grown satyr on his shoulder! There should be a limit to ridiculousness! Percy sank to his knees, his stomach growling loudly in protest. Desperately, he gathered water, and splashed it on himself.

 _Finally! Sweet relief!_

 _So, kid. I found something out._

 _Yeah?_

 _Remember when I found out that you get additional speed when you're doused with fresh water?_

 _Yeah, of course._

 _Well, aside from seawater increasing your abilities by a factor of three as opposed to two, it also grants you an additional power. A power I almost don't want to mention, it's so ridiculous._

 _Really? What is it?_

 _Well, it seems that it's something like... concentration enhancement? I don't know, I'll come up with a better name later. Essentially, if you are in a state of hyperfocus while doused in sea water, you can temporarily increase the intensity of a single power. In this fight, you increased your speed in order to cut the Minotaur five times in the space of a hundredth of a second. It was so fast that it was probably invisible to the naked eye._

 _That's pretty sweet. Just how much did I increase my speed, anyway?_

 _I... I don't really want to say it. It'll go to your head!_

 _It's already going to my head! The number isn't going to change anything!_

 _Well, I suppose that makes a bit of sense. All things considered, the amount that the enhancement itself was accountable for... was a factor of fifty. Which means that at the time, your unnatural speed increase was enhanced by... fifteen hundred._

'Actually, it was only 750, because I was only giving you a half amplification, but I'll definitely never tell you that now, you freak of nature,' the spirit thought to itself so softly that Percy couldn't hear.

 _Hold on, spirit. That means that if you were actively amplifying my speed boost, then it would be fifteen thousand!?_

'Actually it would only be 3,750 if I used half amplification again, but you'll definitely never know!'

 _Yes, it seems that's the case. Also, if I likewise amplified the enhancement ability itself, the increase would end up being one hundred fifty thousand. Of course, there's one point you need to consider._

 _Huh?_

 _Look at your clothes._

Percy looked down, and he was shocked to find that his clothes were singed. There was a faint smell of smoke.

 _How did my clothes catch on fire, exactly? Isn't that more worrying than just, 'Look at your clothes?'_

 _No, I knew you were safe. Your body is my body, after all. Your clothes are singed because of the ridiculous speeds you were moving at. If at 1,500 your clothes are singed, then at 15,000, your clothes will surely catch on fire completely. And if at 15,000 your clothes catch fire, then at 150,000,_ you _will surely catch on fire._

'Actually, if I keep using half amplification, instead of 150,000, it would really only be 18,750. Even then, he'll surely catch on fire. That's only an eighth of the maximum speed increase. If I fully amplified all of this... he would surely completely incinerate as soon as he started moving. But, if he didn't... Ah, yes! He's too stupid to realize, but I've got it! All I have to do is fully amplify his flame resistance! If his flame resistance was increased by a factor of 300... he'll probably be fine, even moving faster than divine speed! This boy can challenge gods, even untrained! I've found the most powerful host body in existence! Hahahahahahahahaha! I can conquer Mount Olympus in a single week, no sweat! I can rule the world! Wait, but I probably could've done that before now, if I really wanted to. There's not much point in ruling the world; it's a ton of work, and totally a thankless job. I guess I'll just murder people I don't like again this time.'

 _I guess you shouldn't amplify my speed after all then. That would just be unfair, anyways. I want a little challenge._

 _Yeah, that's for sure. Maybe if the gods themselves come after you then I'll give you a little boost, but otherwise, I'll stick to keeping the numbers on earth, rather than Mount Olympus._

 _Man, I'm sleepy. Isn't it like the middle of the night? I think I'll take a nap._

 _You fool! At least make it to the camp border! A monster could eat you while you're sleeping!_

 _Wouldn't you wake me up?_

 _But I'm really tired, too! I want to go to sleep as much as you! Amplifying your power is super tiring, you know!_

Eventually, Percy made his way to camp, falling asleep against the pine tree.

He never noticed the pair of eyes gleaming in the darkness, watching him since Grover entered camp. Nor could he have noticed the eyes watching from even farther away.

* * *

Like it?

By the way...

...Percy does have unnatural strength in the books, as he broke the Minotaur's horn off bare-handed in the very first book.

...When Percy's unnatural strength or speed is increased by a factor of 20, he isn't 20 times stronger or faster. Rather, the boost he gets is amplified. But, the original boost isn't a ratio. For example, if he can bench press an extra 50 pounds with unnatural strength, then 50 pounds is what gets amplified. e.g. if he can bench 200, then it becomes 250. If he's doused in freshwater, and that ability is amplified, it becomes 1,200, rather than 5,000. (Math: 200 + (50 x (2 x 10)), 200 + 1000, vs. 200 x (1.25 x (2 x 10)), 200 x 25) Of course, these aren't the real numbers. They're only examples.

...Water regeneration refers to water restoring his energy and healing his wounds. Water augmentation refers to boosting his skills. Sorry if that's not clear in-story. I tend to use them interchangeably, but they are in fact two separate abilities.

...Percy doesn't really have unnatural speed, the ability to control fate, or the weird concentration enhancement business in the books. Obviously. I just want to have fun writing this story. Most likely it'll be constantly evolving.

...It takes me this long to update because I'm super lazy, not because it takes a long time to write. This chapter was written and edited in under 24 hours. Though, normally I'm pretty busy to be honest, but it was July 4th when I wrote this, so I had time.

...Don't take Percy and Grover's conversation about their comedy routine too seriously. Those are all real terms, and I believe them to be correct, but I'm not an expert. So look it up for yourself before you try to explain it to someone else (if you plan on doing that).

…I'm not abandoning any of my other stories. I'll write them when I'm inspired to, as stupid and cliché as that sounds. But if I force myself to write, it won't be any good.

…It's not really a big secret that Percy won't end up with Annabeth in this story. Also, he's a healthy highschool guy, so don't blame him for liking cute girls and having impure thoughts. I'll change the rating to M if it starts over into more explicit things, but I don't plan on writing any lemons, unless there's a huge outpouring of support for them and there are hardly any dissenters. Even then, I'd be sure to put an A/N in bold before and after so if you skip it, you won't miss anything. If I do it at all.

...Seriously, I'm only writing this story for myself. I'm uploading it for feedback and because objectively it is pretty interesting. If you don't like it, please tell me exactly why. I'm not going to tailor it precisely to your liking, but if it's not too hard I may acquiesce. The same goes for the opposite. If you really like something, please tell me exactly what it is, instead of saying keep up the great work or something like that. I'd like to write what is good and avoid what is bad. Of course, I have the final say, but it wouldn't be fair to say it wouldn't influence me at all.

...It was user: **xSkiesOfBlue11** who reminded me about Percy's flame resistance in a review, and subsequently I added all the other powers I forgot he had, and also powers he didn't have, so, **xSkiesOfBlue11** , you have had a profound impact on this story. For better or worse.

...If you didn't realize, I am making fun of stories with overly complicated powers and stuff, as well as cool sounding names for things that don't even really need names. However, in doing so, I realized that it's actually really useful in explaining things and referring to them quickly, so I have just a tiny bit more respect for those types of stories. You should, too.

...My author's notes are in fact ridiculously long. I just have so much to say.

...If you actually want me to respond to your review asking a question, or something similar, PM me as well. If it's something I feel I can reveal, then I will do my utmost to explain.

How was the OP-osity level? Should I buff the monsters to the max, or is Minotaur level a good mid-boss, do you think? Tell me!

In other words...

 **Review, or I'll kill you.**


	4. The Impertinence

_This is actually chapter three, but since I split chapter 2 into two chapters before uploading this one, it's actually chapter 4. Sorry if I got your hopes up with 2 new chapters. It was really only one. But, on the bright side, I have an additional 2 chapters already written (since originally this was just the first part of a massive 20k chapter)._

 _Also, there's no fighting, but oh well. Also, reminder, this is written how I want to write it, not how you want it written. So if it doesn't suit you, write a better story yourself. That's what I'm doing. This is 100% a personal project._

 _Disclaimer: This is not intended to infringe upon the market of the copyright holder._

* * *

 _3rd Person Omniscient  
_

As Percy finally killed the Minotaur, the camp was more or less in an uproar.

Grover was too worried about the fate of Percy to speak even a single word to anyone, and had collapsed from the mental exhaustion almost as soon as he arrived at the Big House.

Just a minute earlier, the whole camp was woken up by the sound of a huge explosion. Some campers said it sounded more like a bomb, others said it sounded more like a car crash.

There was absolutely no way they could have guessed it was actually several dozen sonic booms in the span of a hundredth of a second.

See, to subdue the Minotaur, Percy made five slashing attacks within one hundredth of a second. When doing the math, one finds that any part of Percy's body that moved more than two feet in a single attack caused two sonic booms-one when reaching the speed of sound from below it, when accelerating, one when reaching the speed of sound from above it, when decelerating. Meaning Percy's water sword, the arm holding it, the other arm he moved as a counterweight, and the leg he moved when slashing all caused two sonic booms each. As such, each of the five attacks caused no less than eight sonic booms, for a total of forty.

Percy and the spirit had not noticed the noise, because Percy was too focused on the Minotaur, and the spirit was too focused on the ability Percy was suddenly displaying. However, to the sleeping camp, it was obvious.

"I think it came from Halfblood Hill! It must be a monster breaking down the barrier!" Baron, one of the more intelligent members of the Ares cabin, yelled.

"All armored troops, form phalanx and move forward! Prepare for battle!" shouted Clarisse, the young but skilled leader of the Ares cabin.

While most of the camp was groggily arguing amongst themselves as to the source of the noise, the children of Ares, ever hungry for battle, were already all fully armed and armored.

Of course, even though the god of war's cabin was one of the most densely populated in the camp, at sixteen members, they lacked both the necessary numbers and weaponry needed to form a true phalanx.

A true phalanx was a formation in which rows of hoplites wielded a large shield and a spear. However, this spear was designed for phalanx use, and held little one-on-one combat potential. The reason for this was the spear was designed to be used from as far back as the fourth or fifth row of soldiers, and was in excess of fifteen feet long. The Ares cabin, in actuality, found the tactic of hiding behind one's brothers in arms to be cowardly, and in fact possessed no spear greater than six feet in length.

So it was that when the phalanx order was given, all sixteen members of the cabin stood side by side in a single row, and advanced that way. This formation could be loosely called a 'shield wall,' but could not really be called a phalanx of any sort.

Of course, the formation used was of little importance, as there were no enemies to be fought.

When the vanguard of Ares' soldiers reached Halfblood Hill, they were dumbfounded by what they saw in the torchlight. There was a single demigod passed out on the inside of the barrier, leaning against Thalia's pine.

But that was not what anyone was looking at.

There were four enormous gashes in the earth, as if some giant had clawed at the surface from far above. Each gash was at least fifteen feet long, a foot wide, and four to five feet deep.

The reason for the gashes was the supernatural air pressure caused by Percy's sword traveling several times faster than the speed of sound. The tip of the sword, in fact, had reached hypersonic speeds, of mach 5 and over. The four gashes were the result of each of Percy's downward strikes. Meanwhile, the strike that beheaded the Minotaur was horizontal and pointed upwards, and the attack had sheered the upper branches of several trees before dissipating towards the sky.

"Do you think... this could be the source of the explosion?" Baron asked hesitantly.

"I have never heard of nor seen anything like this before, Baron. I cannot answer," Clarisse said respectfully.

It was about this time they noticed the sleeping demigod. Figuring he must know the source of the gashes and explosion, Clarisse moved to wake him.

"Rise and shine, sleepyhead!" she shouted.

There was no response.

She slapped his cheek with no shortage of force; she had already lost her patience.

The boy mumbled softly in reply. Clarisse was not sure, but it sounded like he'd said, "Come on, mom, it's Saturday."

Clarisse moved her torch towards the comatose halfblood's face, meaning to wake him up via the pain of heat, but there still was no response.

She could not have known there was a spirit in the demigod, nor could she have known the spirit unintentionally amplified all of Percy's abilities when it slept, and she definitely was not privy to the knowledge that one of the boy's abilities was fire resistance.

All she found when she moved the torch closer to him was that he seemed unimaginably handsome, and her breath hitched for a second, before she decided he must be a son of Aphrodite, and paid his handsomeness no mind. If he couldn't fight, she didn't consider him worth looking at. Of course, among the things she did not know was that Percy had a not totally insignificant amount of unnatural beauty, and it was being amplified by a factor of ten at the moment, making him seem to all as if he possessed the blood of the goddess of beauty and desire. She definitely would never have guessed that it was he who caused the gashes in the earth.

"Somebody take him to the infirmary; he's out cold."

While she certainly planned to play nasty tricks on the new camper, he would be one of her comrades eventually, and so allowing him to potentially be critically injured by her not taking him to someone who knew what they were doing was unacceptable.

It definitely wasn't because of the attraction caused by her thinking he was a son of Aphrodite. It was somewhat well known that children of Ares are naturally attracted to children of Aphrodite, for the same reason their father was attracted to the original. Though, if anyone in the Ares cabin was asked, it was totally not true, not even a little bit.

Some nameless extra picked Percy up, slung him over his shoulder, and took him to the infirmary. Soon, the Apollo cabin was informed of everything they'd found out, which was not a lot, as well as Chiron.

It was in the infirmary that they discovered that nothing in particular was wrong with him. He didn't seem to have sustained any damage whatsoever. In fact, he was healthier than most of the Ares campers.

"Damn son of Aphrodite. Probably hid so he wouldn't get hurt. That's why he hasn't got a scratch on him," said the Ares camper who brought him to the infirmary.

"The only thing I can't figure out is why his clothes were singed, but he wasn't burnt even a little. Why were his clothes even singed in the first place?" said the Apollo camper who was inspecting him.

Suddenly, Clarisse poked her head in and shouted, "Fletcher! Emergency war council!"

Fletcher was head of the Apollo cabin, and Clarisse was head of the Ares cabin, so they were members of the council.

Once the heads of all the cabins were in the War room in the Big House along with Chiron, surrounding a ping pong table, Chiron spoke.

"I'm sure you have all by now heard of the situation, at least in part. So, allow me to clarify everything as best I can. Firstly, at 2:13 AM a loud explosion-like noise was heard, emanating from Halfblood Hill. Upon investigation, there were four large gashes upon the earth, inhuman in size. Upon further inspection, two Bullman horns were found several yards from those gashes."

There was excited whispering from most cabin heads. Those who remained silent were Luke, Hermes head, and Annabeth, Athena head. Luke had found the horns, and Annabeth always reserved judgement until all information was uncovered.

"There was also a demigod found collapsed against Thalia's Pine. Lee Fletcher, please report," Chiron asked.

"He is in perfect health, sir. Although much of his clothing is singed, there are no marks on his body. His bones and joints are all fine, and he doesn't seem to have a concussion. Those are the results of the healing scan I performed."

Lee Fletcher was both head of the Apollo cabin and the most gifted healer the camp had seen in decades.

"Then why isn't he here?" Castor, Dionysus head, asked politely.

Fletcher answered, "Well, uh... Clarisse tried to wake him up via sound, pain, and heat, and I tried various other methods, but he just won't wake up."

"So he's in a coma?" Beckendorf, Hephaestus head, asked gruffly.

"Er... no. His eyes were moving when I checked them, so it seems like... he's just a really heavy sleeper. He's in REM sleep at the moment."

There was a collective groan.

"Back to you, Chiron."

"Thank you, Lee. I will now divulge the identity of the sleeping demigod. He is Perseus Jackson, and he is the demigod I left camp to monitor."

"You only got back yesterday!"

"What!?"

"Wasn't he hundreds of miles from here!?"

"No way!"

The cabin heads were shocked because they had heard of him when Chiron returned from Yancy academy. Chiron said he should be arriving in two to three weeks, and yet he arrived in two days, more or less. While if all they were doing was walking, it wouldn't haven taken nearly as long, they would also have to deal with monsters, which often greatly increases the length of a journey.

Annabeth spoke up for the first time. "Reconnaissance head Luke, was there a car at the scene?" She spoke to Luke, who, being a son of Hermes, was excellent at information gathering, and was thus named the head of reconnaissance for the camp. She spoke overly formally to hide her affection for the man seven years her senior.

"There was no mode of transportation I could find anywhere near where the battle occurred."

Suddenly, Grover stumbled in.

"He ran it. He carried me all the way here after a wicked fight with three One Eyes at once. He's totally awesome. The coolest," Grover panted, before falling back down.

"Mr. Underwood!" Chiron shouted. "Mr. Fletcher, please help him."

But before Lee could get up from his seat, Grover started standing on his own.

"I'm fine! Sorry, I just got excited. I ran here as fast as I could from the infirmary," Grover said with a sheepish grin. Or rather, a goatish grin, perhaps?

Chiron regained his composure and said, "Please, Mr. Underwood, inform us of your journey. We would like to hear it."

Grover took a deep breath before starting. He had regained his memories, for the most part, so it wasn't any trouble to retell it.

"Well, the first day after we left Yancy was totally unremarkable. But the second day, early in the morning, we ran into a family of One Eyes. A mother and her two sons, though they were all fully grown. I thought we were about to die, but Percy was totally fearless! Even though he had no weapons at all-"

"You useless satyr," grumbled Clarisse. It was technically a satyr's job to locate weaponry for a demigod, so if Percy had met his end at the hands of the cyclopes, the blame would have been squarely on Grover's shoulders.

Grover looked troubled but continued, "Even though he had no weapons, he said he was gonna fight them. I thought we were both goners, and that was before he got a thin stick from the forest, too!"

"A stick? Not a club?" Beckendorf said. Of all the heads, save perhaps Luke, who was a swordplay genius, Beckendorf, being a genius weapon and armorsmith, knew just how much different using a stick was from using a sword. Only thrusts to very weak areas on a monster would have any effect, and no self respecting monster would let you get that close, since a stick can be blocked using virtually any part of a monster's body other than its weakest spot. A club, on the other hand, was a perfectly viable weapon.

"Yeah, a stick. Then he yells at the One Eyes, and I run into the forest, sure my best friend is dead. But then he just starts _talking_ to them. I didn't hear what he said, but soon he and two of the three of them start laughing loudly. Then, I guess I must have blinked, or something, because he was behind the One Eyes, and the two that had started laughing disintegrated. Then he talks to the third one, who turned around, and suddenly he's standing on top of the One Eye who's lying on the ground, disintegrating. So then Percy goes into their hut, and I follow him, and then suddenly it's dark and I'm near the Hill, slung over Percy's shoulder. Then we hear the Bullman, and Percy tells me to get to camp, and he's not taking no for an answer, and this time I'm sure he's a goner, but I guess he killed it, right?"

Everyone was silent for a long time, digesting the story, and trying to figure out what really happened, separating Grover's surely exaggerated claims from the truth.

It was Annabeth who spoke. "There still isn't enough information. We need to figure out what those gashes are."

Grover looked confused. "Wasn't it the Bullman's axe?"

Annabeth considered it for a moment, before asking, "What about the explosion, then?"

Grover looked confused yet again. "What explosion?"

"There was an explosion at 2:13, between the time you arrived and we investigated. It isn't a certainty that whatever caused the explosion, or rather, sound of explosion, since there was no evidence of explosives, also caused the gashes, but I think it's clear that they are somehow related."

Again Grover spoke. "Maybe the Bullman caused the gashes, and whatever Percy did to defeat it caused the explosion."

Everyone considered that for a minute.

Eventually Chiron spoke. "Well, I think many things will become clear when Perseus wakes up,"

* * *

 _Some time later, 3rd Person Limited (Percy)_

"Huh? What explosion?"

It had been three days since the defeat of the Minotaur. Percy had been sleeping soundly until woken up mere minutes before being asked about the cause of the explosion.

There was an emergency war council called, to get Percy's side of the story.

 _You idiot, kid! You must have caused a bunch of sonic booms when you unleashed your speed boosted attacks! Your clothes were on fire, of course you broke the sound barrier! Just tell them what I tell you, got it!?_

"What do you mean, what explosion? You were the one who fought the Bullman, right?"

It seemed Clarisse heavily doubted his skill. The Bullman was not an easy opponent. There aren't many in camp who could even survive a one on one fight with it, much less win without a scratch. This guy must be hiding _something_.

"Oh, right, explosion. Well, now that you mention it, I did superheat some water I pulled out of the air by spinning it at immense speeds, then agitating it by swinging at it with the sword I got from the One Eyes, causing a superexpansion of the gas, killing the Bullman. Does that count as an explosion?"

Chiron had his head in his hands. Percy couldn't go ten minutes in camp without exposing who his father was.

Annabeth seemed surprised, more than the others, so she spoke next, with a bit of an edge, less curious, more... something else. "Weren't you a terrible student? How do you know about the properties of distilled water?"

Percy was not impressed with this blonde chick. Sure, she was hot, but she was totally not his type. Even through that one sentence, he could tell she was conceited and insensitive.

He'd seen her type a lot. He met a lot of nerds in high school. Hell, he was friends with some of them. He didn't have a high enough GPA to play any sports, so he wasn't seen as a jock. He got along pretty well with everyone, and he stood up for weaker kids who got bullied, so he was seen as a sort of hero by a lot of the more unpopular students, no matter which school he went to.

But a lot of smarter kids had a problem, where it seemed they felt like knowledge was theirs and theirs alone. Anyone they saw as not smart was labelled an idiot, and idiots aren't supposed to have knowledge. He couldn't stand people like that.

The friends he made were people called nerds just because they took high level classes, not because they had snobby attitudes. They tried their best to tutor him, but in the end, he had never made above a C- on anything, and was always expelled, for one reason or another, by the end of the year.

He'd met a lot of nice people, and a lot of not nice people. He had built up an immense skill as a judge of character. He had found that when people were truly surprised, that was when they dropped all their pretenses, all their acts, and let their true intentions slip. Through just these two questions, he could tell this blonde girl who seemed the same age as him was a person he could not get along with. Less hate and more... he could tell that dealing with her would just make him tired.

 _You're totally right, by the way. I kept tabs on everybody in this camp, to see if any would make a decent host. Her Fatal Flaw is hubris. If you ask her, she'll tell you it means she thinks she can do anything, but that's not the issue. She has overly excessive pride. She doesn't just think she can do anything, she thinks she's better than everyone. There is no one who knows more than her, and since knowledge is power, she finds herself to be the most powerful person she knows. Even stronger than the gods. But without the impertinence to challenge them, she's been ruminating in her pride for years upon years. With my help, she'd have certainly been much smarter than Daedalus, who, hint hint, I also possessed, remember that incident where he killed his nephew for like no reason, ah, you probably don't. But I didn't give her my help. I heard her talking to herself, she's batshit crazy. Maybe if someone had helped her with her hubris four or five years ago she'd be fine, but now, she's not someone I'd be able to deal with. Her thoughts are so prideful, it's almost ridiculous. It's quite sad, but, trust me, she's past the point of no return. Maybe she'd be good for a lay, but-_

 _Shut the hell up, spirit! I have no intention of pursuing her romantically or in any other way. So don't say creepy shit like that. I don't even want to imagine doing the deed while you're inside my head. Disgusting, don't bring it up ever again, gross._

"Yeah, so what if I was a fuckin' terrible student? What's that got to do with anything? Knowledge isn't the same thing as wisdom, surely you'd know that. I'm plenty smart enough to know your type when I see it. And to answer your question, I just know lots of stuff about water instinctively, I don't know why."

So maybe Percy got a little more angry than he thought he would, but he felt like he'd known this girl for a long time, since she seemed the epitome of arrogance, and it felt good to piss her off.

And pissed off she was. Her stormy grey eyes clashed against his wild see green ones, the fire within totally unconstrained. She was about to retort when Chiron interrupted.

"Now, now, you two. You can't fight in here, this is the war room!"

Everyone looked around.

"Surely this reference has not gone over all of your heads? Well, I suppose the movie was released over fifty years ago by now."

This strange reference from Chiron seemed to have calmed everyone down, for the moment, at least.

Interestingly, it was the head of the Aphrodite cabin who spoke next, Silena Beauregard.

"So, if you can control water strongly enough to defeat the Bullman singlehandedly, then that means you are the son of..."

Chiron spoke to prevent others from completing her thought.

"An unknown god. His mother is mortal, and his father is absolutely unknown. Understood? The Lord of Travelers will take him in. Will that be acceptable, Luke?

"We'll make it work, somehow, but this is wood on the fire. We really need an undetermined cabin, Chiron. There's starting to be a lot of resentment from those kids. They're thinking that the gods care so little for them that not only do they not claim them, they don't even care enough for an additional cabin. How hard would it really be?" Luke started to get pretty passionate, though no one could really tell if it was because he didn't have any room in his cabin or he really cared for the undetermined.

"I'm sorry, my boy. The camp barely has enough funds for additional weaponry, we just don't have the budget to construct a new cabin. You know as well as I that if we accepted charity from the gods we would lose our autonomy. It violates the ancient laws in the first place. It doesn't seem like it would be hard for the children it affects, but it's a huge political issue on the Mountain," Chiron explained sadly. It was clear he cared for each and every one of the campers, and all of his decisions were for the benefit of the campers.

 _So he says. Of course, if the campers built it, there'd be no problem, but no one seems to want to do it, apparently. Do you want to? You'd make new friends, and you'd have more room to sleep._

 _Yeah, absolutely. Why hasn't anyone? Just cut down some trees-_

 _No tree cutting down. Dryads would have their heads. Gotta be stone. There's a potential quarry nearby, but it's about a mile away. No one wants to abandon their camp activities to cut and haul stone all day every day._

 _Well I don't have any camp activities in the first place. Let's do it._

 _Alright, tonight._

 _Got it._

"So, who's the Lord of Travelers?" Percy asked innocently.

There was a groan.

"God of thieves, roads, messengers-" Luke was interrupted by Percy

"Oh, Herm... Right, I got it now."

So it was that Percy was shown around camp, taken to the Hermes cabin, and given the two Minotaur horns in a "commemorative shoebox," according to Grover.

As it was already afternoon when he awoke, soon they had dinner. Percy was ravenous.

Although he was hungry, every plate he had, he sacrificed about half of it, praying for his father to convince the other gods to claim their undetermined children, or at least tell him why they hadn't claimed them yet.

As he sacrificed his eighth plate of brisket, he heard it.

His father's voice.

He said only three words, but Percy knew it was Poseidon. It felt so familiar, so warm.

 _Same as you._

"Huh? Same as me?" he said out loud, causing a lot of people to give him strange looks.

 _But hasn't he not claimed me because I'm a secret? So all the undetermined are forbidden children? Or maybe I wasn't claimed because he's waiting for the right moment, to use me as a tool. Was that it?_

 _No, you dolt. Your father hasn't claimed you because you still need to prove yourself. If he claimed you before you've done anything, you might get popular just because of your parentage. And just like you, all the other Undetermined have yet to prove themselves. Their parents are actually trying to help them by not claiming them. I have many ideas to help them._

 _Aren't you supposed to be evil? You aren't supposed to help people, just hurt them._

 _Who said it was a law evil beings must never do anything good for anyone? I enjoy hurting others, but I also am capable of empathy. I feel bad for the kids who are so backwards in their thinking. Thinking that their parents care nothing for them, when in reality, it is the reverse. It's just sad._

 _I suppose I get it. Well, I won't stop you from being good._

After dinner, there was a big campfire. But, Percy managed to sneak off.

The potential quarry was actually several feet underground, so it was no wonder no one had found it before.

 _So, Perseus. I have an ulterior motive here. You have the Earthshaker power. Basically, you have earth control, though it is limited. You're much more adept at creating earthquakes than moving dirt... But, when I amplify water augmentation and Earthshaker, you should have more than enough skill to move the dirt off the rock._

It was incredibly difficult, as he'd never attempted to use Earthshaker before, but he eventually got the hang of it. With the moonlight shining on the ground it was not completely dark, and he could tell when he'd gotten to the rock.

It was pink granite, of a very high quality. It was basically a mixture of white and light pink splotches, with black splotches as well, though less of them.

Percy redoused himself with seawater, and used his water control to make concentrated blades of high pressure water. He made enough of them to make all the blocks at once. He sent them straight into the ground, as far as they'd go. They went _way_ farther than he thought they would, at least a hundred feet straight down.

 _Uh, spirit? How am I supposed to get them out?_

 _Isn't it obvious? Send water down to the bottom, cut them off from the bottom, and lift them up._

So he did that. Although, he could only bring up one column at a time. He surrounded the base of the hundred foot column with water, and brought up the water, carrying the column along with it. There were about a hundred columns in all, each about two feet long and four feet wide, perfect rectangular prisms. Once he brought up a column, he'd cut it with the water at two foot intervals, bringing the total number of blocks to a staggering 5,000. The total weight was immense.

 _Now, the roof. You need a solid sheet of granite for the roof. Also, you'll need a bunch of different sized blocks for the windows and doors. Also, since the roof won't slope, you'll need some columns to support it. Though, the barrier of camp keeps anything they don't want out-even the weather, so there shouldn't be any extra snow weight to consider, though I will consider it. Leave the math to me!_

 **(A/N:Although actually I am quite well versed in the building of houses with wooden frames, I have no idea how to make a house entirely from stone. In a wood house, you'd need all sorts of jack studs, common studs, king studs, joists-real complicated. So I'll leave out the rest of the house building specifics.)**

When Percy laid the first brick, there was a tug in his gut, similar to when he had first started practicing his water control. His powers were being taxed heavily by all this weight. He'd better finish quickly.

When all was said and done, the new cabin was much bigger than the old cabins. The spirit had convinced Percy to build two floors, and it was as big as a house. Of course, in terms of splendor it lost out to the other cabins by a landslide, since it was made purely from pink granite. The other cabins were all dedicated to specific gods, and thus were adorned appropriately. However, this new cabin seemed to be carved directly out of solid rock. If the building blocks are heavy and precise enough, no mortar is necessary, or so the spirit told Percy. As a result, there were no gaps between the blocks, and it seemed as if it were made entirely from a single large rock. Though the blocks were placed by hand, utilizing super enhanced speed and strength granted by the spirit and seawater, it was possible to finish in a single night. The second story floor was placed with the help of water control, as well as the roof. However, the doorway was empty, as were all the windows.

Due to the ridiculous number and weight of the blocks, even when carried with water, Percy had to make several trips back to the quarry. The harpies discovered him when he first brought the blocks, but he quickly knocked them out by hitting the backs of their heads with a fist of solid water, drawn out of the air behind them. Percy owed his ability to control immense amounts of water to the spirit, but his excellent fine control could be attributed fully to himself.

The sun was beginning to rise when Percy finally completed the house, sans windows and door. Of course, it was also totally unfurnished, and Percy had only remembered stairs as an afterthought so they weren't built directly into the wall, instead resting on other blocks. As such, the stairs took a little more space than necessary, and the first floor felt a tiny bit more cramped than it could have otherwise been. But, it was enormous for a single room in the first place, so it wasn't all that big a deal.

Needless to say, there was an uproar.

This was due mostly to the fact that Percy had built the cabin in front of the others. While the gods' cabins formed a "U", Percy's cabin had been built between the space between Cabin 1 and Cabin 12. It seemed as if this new cabin stood at the head of all the gods, proclaiming itself superior over them. Percy, in his impertinence and ignorance, had missed this simple observation entirely. The spirit, of course, knew exactly what it was doing, and in fact had told Percy to build it there in the first place.

Amidst the uproar, things could be heard such as:

"What on earth is that thing!?"

"It looks like a kitchen counter top!"

"Did the gods build that for the undetermined?"

"Do we finally get to sleep on beds!?"

"Praise the gods!"

"Isn't that kind of big for twenty three kids? It's like three times bigger than a normal cabin, isn't it?"

The most dumbfounded of all of them was Luke. He was speechless. It seemed as if the gods had heard his complaints and answered them. Was he... wrong?

"SILENCE!" Chiron bellowed.

Not a soul spoke.

"Who did this?" he asked.

Immediately, the voices returned, this time louder than before. If the gods had built it, Chiron would know. Since Chiron was asking who'd built it, it couldn't have been the gods. So who did it!?

"It was me." Percy said plainly. He was standing in the doorway, having been inside the house fixing the stairs when the commotion began.

Everyone fell silent yet again.

"Perseus, did you... truly do this? How is it possible?" Chiron asked gently.

"Yeah, I built it. I skipped campfire and worked through the night. I'd heard the undetermined were getting restless cooped up in the Traveler's cabin, so I built a new one."

Suddenly, everyone started bowing.

"Come on guys, it's not that big a deal. Anybody could have done it."

 _Percy, it's not that._

 _Then what is it?_

 _You've been claimed by Poseidon. There's a big holographic trident over your head. Real flashy. You have been found worthy. Apparently, Poseidon believes the building of this cabin, and what it shows about you, is enough to prove to the campers it is you who is worthy, not your father. I would have waited for a military achievement, but I suppose since Poseidon is known mostly for demolishing houses with tidal waves and earthquakes, not building them with hard work, it shows a similar amount of skill and power._

 _I see. Sort of._

 _Well, with you, that's as good as it gets._

"-Son of the Sea God," Chiron finished announcing.

Still, the entire camp was silent. They didn't know what to do. Suddenly, there was a son of Poseidon in their midst, and he'd just built a cabin from stone in a matter of hours.

"Man, I don't even get to sleep in it? I built this whole damn thing just to move to some cabin that's been empty for fifty years? Man," Percy complained incessantly.

Thunder rumbled loudly in the distance.

Chiron got a puzzled look on his face, then broke into a smile.

"Percy, my boy, the Lord of the Seas has just granted you permission to live in the cabin you've built. You're free to take anything from cabin 3 to furnish the new cabin-Cabin U!" Chiron announced.

Percy was quite happy with this. He'd get to make friends after all! He'd pretty much only made the cabin so he could get to know the other undetermined better, as well as feeling sorry for them. Once he'd been claimed, he was worried he'd be separated from them, and be forced to live alone.

Chiron continued speaking. "Since it seems the cabin built by Percy has the approval of at least one of the Big Three, it shall remain standing. Cabin U will be inhabited by the undetermined, until they are claimed by their parents. There will be an emergency council meeting, so cabin heads, along with you, Percy, come with-"

Chiron was interrupted by yet another strange happening. Somewhere in the crowd of people, another person was claimed.

It was the symbol of scales. A child of Nemesis, goddess of revenge.

"Ethan Nakamura! You have been claimed by Nemesis!"

Based on the murmuring, this seemed to be unexpected. Apparently the minor gods and goddesses almost never claim their children.

Suddenly, a third person was claimed. Son of Iris, Butch.

And another, and another, and another.

In the end, eleven children had been claimed by minor gods, exactly half of the remaining 22 undetermined, as there had been twenty three including Percy.

Son of Morpheus, god of sleep, named John.

Daughter of Hecate, goddess of magic, named Liliana.

Son of Nemesis, goddess of revenge, named Ethan.

Son of Iris, goddess of rainbows, named Butch.

Twin Sons of Janus, god of doorways, named Yuusuke and Sasuke (Japanese names meaning 'Right' and 'Left' respectively).

Son of Nike, goddess of victory, named Justin.

Son of Dike, goddess of justice, named Victor.

Daughter of Tyche, goddess of chance, named Eponine.

Daughter of Hebe, goddess of youth, named Dawn.

Son of Eirene, goddess of peace, named Curtis.

The crowd looked on in shock. Such a thing has probably not happened a single time in the history of the camp. A mass claiming.

 _Spirit, what's going on?_

 _It seems these kids have already done enough to be claimed, but their parents believed if they were the only child of a so called minor god in the whole camp, they'd be ostracized. Now that this cabin exists, they have a place in this camp. That, or the new cabin is at the head of the rest, so they want their children there to improve their own standing. Take your pick._

"Well, I suppose Cabin U will not only be for the undetermined, but also for the children of the gods and goddesses that are not on the Council of the Mountain. All those affected by the change, please move your stuff into the new cabin. Percy, please move the beds in Cabin 3 into Cabin U."

But as he spoke, something began to happen. There were many separate rumbles of thunder, which Chiron seemed frazzled by.

Slowly, it seemed as if the door and windows were materializing in the proper places. Inside, bunk beds on the second floor were likewise materializing. Lamps lit with green fire were appearing by the doorway, and various other things were happening.

After all the changes had manifested, Cabin U looked just as magnificent as the rest of the cabins. It looked like a mishmash of all sorts of things. One of the bigger changes was that there were now two doors, side by side. There was also a constant rainbow inside for Iris messaging, and the whole place had a calming atmosphere. Fighting was the last thing on anyone's mind.

Yet another strange thing happened. The newly claimed Ethan, who looked as ecstatic as the rest of the undetermined and recently claimed, shuddered violently, and his eyes glowed with light. When he spoke, an adult woman's voice flowed from his mouth.

"In order to show our gratitude to Percy Jackson, for giving our children a place to live, and a place to belong, we have finished construction of the cabin. It would have happened anyway," said not-Ethan.

Percy stood there, dumbfounded.

"All I... all I did was build a house," he said in shock.

"If it were truly so easy, would it not have already been done? Zeus is in an outrage, as are Hera, Athena, Ares, and Apollo. However, the council has voted, 7-5 in favor, and we were permitted add our own personal touches to the cabin. And it is all thanks to you, Perseus Jackson, son of Sally Jackson."

The whole camp flinched whenever a god's true name was used, but it was supposed a goddess had no reason to abstain from naming them.

"But... I just... they were cramped. So I made more space..."

"And you put it at the head of the cabins! Haha! None but you would dare insult the gods in such a way. And so, it could be said that your impertinence has won the day! We owe you a great debt of gratitude. Rest assured, one day, it will be repayed."

"No, no, don't worry about it. It's fine, really."

"I'm with you, Perseus, but Nemesis and Dike would never hear of such a thing. All debts must be repayed."

"If you insist, but it's really not necessary," Percy said uncomfortably

"Haha! Rejecting the thought of gods and goddesses owing him a debt! He truly is impertinent. I like you, Perseus Jackson."

Not-Ethan turned to the crowd, which had fallen utterly silent in the presence of godly power. Percy had not noticed, in part because he was oblivious, and in part because he was incredibly strong, but an incredible amount of divine energy was flowing freely from Ethan's body. Obviously, if whoever this was had fully possessed Ethan, he would have burned up immediately, but only a fraction of her true self had been transferred to him, most likely. But even that much had frozen the whole of camp in place, save Chiron and the newly claimed Liliana. Presumably this was because Liliana's mother was Hecate, who was most likely the one inside Ethan at the moment. Liliana was eagerly jumping up and down, feeling her mother's presence for the second time in her life, the first obviously when she was born.

"Liliana, stop hopping up and down, you're embarrassing your mother."

Liliana stopped hopping but still smiled widely and incessantly, likely overjoyed her mother had actually spoken to her.

"For the rest of the members of Cabin U, take heed of my advice: Prove yourselves worthy! Do what only you can do, and your parents will surely take notice. Make them proud, and you will be claimed. Show your greatness is because of your own power, not just the reputation of your father or mother. Do this, and the gods will take note. Never forget this, and never forget that the people in this camp are your family. They are your brothers and sisters. Love them, and they will love you. Goodbye, demigods of Camp Halfblood. Percy Jackson, thank you. And Lily, take care in your experiments. Now that you know for certain your heritage, I expect great progress. Just don't blow apart the home Percy has just given you."

Lily nodded excitedly, and Ethan fell flat on his face.

A collective sigh of relief echoed across camp, as finally the divine presence was gone, and everyone again felt safe. The sigh was followed by wild ecstatic cheers from the new members of cabin U. Eventually, the whole camp joined in.

After the cheers died down, the whole camp made its way to the dining pavilion. There were two new tables there, pushed up against one another. All the new members of Cabin U followed Percy to the tables, who told them all to sit down.

"So, guys, let's introduce ourselves. I'll start, and you guys follow my example. I'm Perseus Jackson, but call me Percy. I'm sixteen, I'm totally new to camp, my father is the Lord of the Seas, and my mother is Sally Jackson. She's the greatest human on earth. I don't have a favorite activity, but I think it'll probably be swordfighting. I like blue food. Did you guys all get that? Your name, nickname, age, how long you've been at camp, as many of your parents as you know, your favorite camp activity, and something we couldn't guess by looking at you."

It seemed like some of the older members were trying to refrain from laughing, but the younger ones were totally serious.

In the end, everyone did it, and Percy learned a lot about them. The oldest was 20, and the youngest was 14. The longest anyone had been at camp was 8 years, but they were a summer camper and said they were very weak, so their scent wasn't very strong, so it wasn't surprising that monster's hadn't taken him out; he wasn't important enough. Apparently no one had as much camp experience as Annabeth and Luke, who had both arrived 8 years prior as well, but stayed year round. For some reason, Luke was the oldest person at camp.

"Why aren't there any adults here?" Percy asked, innocently.

Everyone's faces turned somber.

Eponine, a 16 year old daughter of Tyche, the luck goddess, spoke. "Well, you see... they... er... they die. Either killed by a monster in the forest, or they go on a quest and never come back, or... sometimes... they just disappear. Luke is a kind of living legend around here. He's the oldest demigod we have, and even though he failed his quest, he still came back alive. That's a lot more than can be said for most others. When people go on quests, their cabins make burial shrouds for them before they leave. But when there's nothing left... all they have to burn is the shroud... I'm sorry! I can't say anymore! Forgive me!"

The girl had started to sob hysterically, so Percy, who happened to be next to her, rubbed her back and told her everything was alright, and that he wasn't mad at her. She'd done well being able to say so much in the first place, he told her. Percy, being utterly oblivious, didn't see her expression change from one of devastation into one of obvious adoration. With a few meager sentences, he had her firmly bewitched.

 _What am I going to do with you?_

 _What? Just because I help people instead of hurting them, it doesn't mean you have to say stuff like that._

 _That's not what I... you know what? Whatever. You'll figure it out on your own soon enough._

 _Whatever. You're weird, man.  
_

 _I'm genderless, Percy. No body, no gender._

 _Is that how that works?_

 _...more like, it's pointless to think about._

 _What?_

 _Look, if I try to explain my opinion on the issue, everyone will get mad at me._

 _Well, as long as you have the right opinion, nobody will have any reason to complain._

 _That's not how opinions work, Percy!_

Percy thought about what the girl had said, and decided he didn't particularly like it.

"Well, I think we should change that. No one in Cabin U will die or disappear again! Unless it's of old age, we will not leave this earth! Let's all do our best in training, so we can always come out on top! Who's with me!?"

There was an enormous roar from the newly formed Cabin U. Percy hadn't realized it, but the spirit had amplified his unnatural leadership, and these people would now follow him to the ends of the earth and into the bowels of hell. Percy had no ulterior motives to speak of, but the spirit knew that the loyalty of these people would help protect Percy from political ploys, something he couldn't solve with sheer strength, so he used Percy's power to essentially convert them into minions.

Percy's leadership power was harmless on it's own, but when amplified... that level of power could do unanticipated things to the minds of mortals. In this case, anyone who agreed with his words would find themselves inexplicably agreeing with Percy on almost every issue from here on out. A truly dangerous power, thought the spirit quietly enough for Percy not to hear.

A certain blonde haired beauty was glaring daggers into him as she ate her bowl of corn Chex, but he never saw her.

* * *

Remember, review or I'll kill you.


	5. The Blonde Bombshell

**So, anyone who says this chapter is totally unrealistic is totally right, and I'm 100% aware how OC this is. Also, I'm sorry that once again there is no fight, and that this story is going nowhere, but I think the next chapter will provide what you're looking for. Anyways, this is a personal project, I know how stupid it is. If you're going to criticize, at least try to tell me something I don't already know.  
**

 **Disclaimer: Don't own PJO.**

* * *

After breakfast, a council was held. Its purpose was purely logistical.

"As the builder of the cabin and the one favored by many gods and goddesses, for some reason, Percy Jackson is nominated as head of Cabin U. Are there any who object?" Annabeth went through the motions of selecting Percy as head of Cabin U, which had become the formal name of the cabin.

Officially, 'U' referred to the original U made by the cabins, which was maintained in name by the new cabin. Of course, in reality, it simply stood for 'Undetermined.' Of course, it technically housed a majority of claimed campers, 12-11, so the name had sort of lost its original meaning, but it had already been named by Chiron before the mass claiming, so not much could be done.

At any rate, no one objected.

"In that case, Perseus Jackson, you are now the official head of Cabin U. You will be responsible for your cabin's activity schedule and lights out time. You will also be responsible for your cabin during meal times and campfires. You will also be in charge of which team your cabin is allied with during capture the flag," Annabeth said, monotone. It was clear she resented Percy for accomplishing so much within twenty four hours of being at camp. It's ridiculous! Within a single day of being awake, he was responsible for bringing a god to camp! And he understood the principles of superheating distilled water _instinctively!?_ Even as a son of the Sea God, it's just too much! Now he's the head of the largest cabin by number, and they're already perfectly loyal to him! It hasn't been a day yet! And who gives a rousing speech while shoving blue pancakes into his mouth!? Who does he think he is!? There should be limits to how insane someone can be! Why is everything going his way!? He's a rookie! I'm bet-

"Annabeth, please stop," Percy said gently. He'd grabbed her arm in the middle, but she hadn't stopped. At first he thought it was funny, but even he started feeling bad for her. He needed to stop her before her reputation was ruined completely. He stopped her with words when it sounded like she was about to say 'I'm better than him.' He held no affection for her in particular in his heart, but he was not so cruel as to let one experience the isolation he had felt so often when people found out he would be expelled after the school year ended. He knew what it was like very well to be thought of as a freak, someone to be pitied and avoided. She thought she was saying it in her head, but she was wrong. That's no reason for one's social life to end. So he stopped her.

Annabeth noticed Percy's hand on her arm, and realized she must have been talking out loud, and blushed violently from embarrassment. She sank to the floor, and when she spoke, it sounded like she was holding back tears.

"How much did you hear?"

"You whispered 'It's ridiculous!' and got louder and louder," Percy said gently. He had knelt down to her level.

Someone's thoughts were supposed to be private. They were sacred. Having blurted out her innermost thoughts without realizing it, especially for one whom thoughts are so important, as a child of Athena... It was likely she would've preferred to bare her body to the other cabin heads, rather than her mind. It would have been less embarrassing.

"So..." Her voice quivered wildly; she was approaching tears fast. "So you heard all of it then?" Her voice was heart-wrenchingly sad. Percy could no longer bear it.

He grabbed her head and brought it to his chest, and wrapped his arms around her. If she lost her opportunity to cry about this now, she would feel unfulfilled and empty for months to come. Percy knew this from experience as well. When you hold back tears, you miss a huge opportunity. You only get one chance for a truly good cry about something.

So, as he wrapped his arms around the excessively proud girl who thought she was better than anyone else, he got comfortable, settling down on his legs, and as soon as she felt secure with him, she began sobbing uncontrollably, wrapping her arms around his torso as well.

He felt her tears wet his shirt, he felt her breath catch constantly, as she got choked up, and he heard her wretched screams of agony. At some point, everyone but the two left the room. A woman crying in a man's arms... it was certainly a private moment. Since Percy was the one her thoughts were directed at, and he seemed fine, the council had no real reason to remain assembled. Soon, it was just Percy and Annabeth, sitting on the floor.

After several minutes of unending inhuman screeches coming from the girl in his arms, he started to question the real reason she was crying. Surely the situation was still salvageable, so...? Soon, she answered his question on her own.

"I-hic-I try so hard! ihhhh-I try so hard to get people to like me!" She looked straight into his eyes, tears streaming down her face in a neverending river of sadness. Her face was twisted into the ugly visage of uninhibited crying, and she was covered in snot as well. She looked horrible. Percy almost couldn't stop himself from looking away, but he stared her down.

"I try so hard to keep them from finding out about my hubris! I try so hard to fit in with everyone else. I try so hard to fit in with the morons and dimwits and fools and idiots in this place!" So she was letting her true colors show. No one else should hear this. As soon as she said moron, Percy desperately drew water from wherever he could and surrounded them with it, creating a sound-resistant barrier. Anyone on the outside would hear a very warbled version of her yelling.

"I try so fucking hard to get them to like me, and you just charge in and win everyone over in an instant! I hate you!" She screamed at him. She had started hitting him with blow after blow, punch after punch, but she made absolutely no effort to leave Percy's embrace. The spirit increased his endurance. To Percy, it felt like she was tapping him with a single finger.

"You ruined everything! Everyone knows I'm a horrible, conceited, selfish, arrogant bitch now, thanks to you! My life here is over! I even convinced myself I'd fallen in love with Luke, just to be normal! Normal people have unrequited love, so I told myself I'd have it too. Now I remember it's all fake. I hate him. I hate all of the stupid fucking buffoons in this damn camp. Even my siblings are imbeciles. I'm the only halfway intelligent person in this place. I hate it here. I ran from home because my dad was an idiot, even though he's a college professor. He, ihhhihihihhh, he married my idiot stepmom, and had two idiot babies with her. I... I ran so I could find someone who wasn't an idiot. I found Luke, Thalia, and Grover on the way here. At the- at the time, I was starving and hurt by the monsters. I found out you can't fight monsters with intelligence alone. I convinced myself that those three were smart, that they were like meeeeeeee-he-heee. Luke didn't seem like as big of an idiot as the others, but he's still dumb. I knew deep down it wasn't true. We got here, and the mega idiot Thalia died getting us here, so I owe it to her to stay here, but everyone here is an idiot. I couldn't even believe it. So I didn't. I told myself they weren't as stupid as it seems, but I was wrong. Even the gods are idiots! I'm better than all of them! I'm definitely better than you. And you know what? I hate you too. You're the dumbest of them all. Gods damn you, Percy Jackson."

Annabeth had lost steam early on in this rant and had gone back to crying somewhere in the middle. As she cursed Percy, her body was racked with sobs once again. Even as she insulted him, she held him tighter and tighter as she went through her story. He could barely hear her insult him because of how closely she was shoving her head into his chest. Her face was buried in his torso, and was muffled by his shirt.

She just wanted to be loved. Percy could tell. She viewed stupidity as the worst form of evil, and when people do things to hurt her, it must be because they're fools. Her father abandoned her when he remarried, so she told herself he did it because he was so stupid he didn't know any better. She met Luke, Grover, and this Thalia girl, but when Thalia sacrificed herself to protect her, she left her all alone. Hence, she was a mega idiot. It was strange she didn't say Luke was even more of an idiot than anyone, since if she really did have unrequited love then it must be hurting her quite a lot. He supposed she wasn't lying when she said she only convinced herself she had a crush on him. Gods, this girl was hard to understand.

But he held her just the same. Seeing someone sob uncontrollably can make them seem so innocent. Even when they're being so arrogant. It was actually... no, it couldn't be that her arrogance was _cute,_ could it?

Eventually, she seemed to have calmed down quite a bit. Her iron grip on him had relaxed greatly, so he asked, "Are you alright now?"

She gripped him tighter than ever before, nearly crushing his spine. If the spirit wasn't amplifying his endurance, she might have done him in right then and there.

In any case, it seemed she didn't want him to leave. She looked up at him with fearful eyes. It, like most of her innocent actions, was heartrending. She didn't just want him to stay, she needed him to stay. She said her life here was over, and that everyone knew by now that she was arrogant and selfish, but she was still terrified that the one who heard her story would abandon her, just like her father, and just like Thalia. Even though she claimed she hated him more than anyone, she didn't want him to let her go.

How unreasonable.

But Percy did his duty as a man, and held her more tightly in response, indicating that he was not going anywhere. Percy, being oblivious, did not realize it, but his actions at that moment clearly indicated that he would protect her. If it wasn't so, he wouldn't have changed his grip on her. But in response to her wordless question, he wordlessly answered.

 _"Are you going to leave now, too?_ " she had asked, with her body.

" _I'm never letting you go,_ " he had replied, with his.

Of course, all he really meant was, 'Don't worry, you big baby. I'll stay with you until you feel better.'

Tears still occasionally flowed from her eyes, but she was silent. Percy had decided he would leave when she wanted him to. He wasn't nearly cruel enough to leave a girl by herself who had bared her previously hidden-to-all soul to just him, especially while she was still silently crying.

For many more minutes this continued. It may have even been hours. Being this close to a highly attractive woman, and being in physical contact with her for so long, but not being able to do anything... Let's just say that Percy was actually feeling a hell of a lot of pain at the moment, so the spirit amplified his endurance. If you don't understand what he wass going through, well bless your little soul. Give it a few years.

It got so that Percy's legs were numb, so he sat cross-legged on the floor, and brought Annabeth to his lap. She allowed him to do so without a word. She merely latched onto him once she was in his lap.

Percy, however, used the opportunity to use water control to remove all the snot from her face and his shirt. He also prayed to every god and goddess he could think of that she wouldn't... feel anything strange from below her, so to speak.

"Can I get the snot out of your nose, Annabeth?" he asked quietly. He told himself he was annoyed he had to take care of her like she was a baby, but in reality, he had a hot chick in his lap, clinging to him for dear life. Even if she was a total arrogant conceited evil bitch who hid her true nature from all her friends and family, that didn't change the fact that they were a male and a female, and they were both 16 years old. Percy had to restrain himself multiple times from taking advantage of her like this. Of course, he didn't even think once of crossing a certain line, but he often found himself thinking how easy it would be to steal her lips in this position-but he never acted on it.

Anyway, in response to his question, she merely turned her head to the side so he could remove the snot.

He used water control to completely clear her sinuses, which was totally gross, by the way. He was at first afraid he might damage her body, since it's made mostly of fluid, but she didn't even make a sound. He thought it'd at least feel weird.

"Did that hurt?" he gently inquired.

She shook her head.

"Then, did it feel weird?" he asked softly.

Nod.

"Then why didn't you say anything?"

Shrug.

"I bet there are guys in this camp who'd pay top dollar to be in this situation with you."

Nothing.

Well, not nothing. It looked like she'd opened her mouth, and he saw her lips say "Idiots," so he assumed she'd said it, but there was no noise. No noise came out of her mouth.

"Did you...?"

She opened her mouth again, many times, but there was no noise act all. She started getting more and more frantic, and worried looking. She tried screaming, but nothing worked.

She was mute.

She started sobbing silently once again, for a totally different reason.

He held her tight, once again, and asked, "Do you think maybe it's a curse? You did say that you were better than the gods. That's not true, and you know it, but you said it anyways. I doubt they liked it. Now they're teaching you a lesson."

She opened her mouth to answer, but no sound came out. She dejectedly looked Percy in the eyes, and at that moment, he somehow understood instantly what she had tried to say. It wasn't her voice speaking each word in his mind, or anything. Rather, her complete thought had instantly appeared in his head.

" _I bet they did. They're even more arrogant than me. Most of them, anyway."_

Percy relayed this to her, and she looked at him in shock.

" _What? That's exactly what I was going to say!"_

He also told her this.

She looked him in the eyes emotionlessly, but he comprehended a complete statement instantaneously.

 _"How's that possible blue elephant pink fluffy unicorn random random fact fact. Huh, I never noticed that his eyes are so-"_

He relayed it all flawlessly. Each word stayed in his head until he said it out loud.

She blushed heavily and tried to look away but accidentally caught his eye for a second.

 _"Oh gods! I wasn't even planning to say that, it was just what I was thinking! He's reading my thoughts!"_

Percy relayed this with laughter.

Annabeth started opening and closing her mouth somewhat angrily, but then caught Percy's eye with a bit of red still in her cheeks.

 _"You can quit telling me what I was thinking, now, I believe you, thanks very much. Gods, I can't believe I've fallen for someone with so little tact._

Percy was stunned. Did she just confess to him?

"Annabeth, I, um... I'm flattered, but I, I can't, I don't... um, you see, I don't really-" Percy had been nervously looking away, failing to realize that if he didn't look at her, she was totally mute. So, she let go of his body and grabbed his head, forcing him to look at her eyes. She had a really cute desperate kind of face, but that was neither here nor there.

 _"Shut up, you massive fucking dummy! I obviously didn't mean to say that! Hey, quit looking away from me! I can't talk if you're not looking, ass!"_

Percy blinked, and another set of thoughts was transmitted. It seemed they were chronological, taken from a certain time back. In the middle of this set of thoughts she had realized he wasn't looking at her, so it must be around... five or ten seconds?

 _"Please, just forget I said that! Please! I can't... I don't know if I can deal with you abandoning me like everyone else. Even if you don't love me, it's fine! I don't care! Even if you get a girlfriend who isn't me, I won't care! Even if you never in a million years love me, I don't mind it even a little bit! Just don't leave! You said you'd protect me, didn't you?"_

"Who's the one with no tact now? In the first place, doesn't this seem a little... out of character, for you? Well, I suppose there's no helping it. It's no use trying to hide anything from me, it seems, and I don't want you to have to be someone you're not in the first place. Around me, you can always be yourself. Even if you're a mega crazy psychobitch who hides everything from everyone, you don't have to hide around me. You want everyone to like you, even if it's just the fake you they like? It's fine by me. But around me, I promise you, I will never in a million years like the fake you. You want to be normal? That's fine. But around me, you don't have to be. Normal for me is just you without the abnormal normalcies you put on for everyone else. The fake you will never in a million years be normal to me. You want to have a crush on someone? Nothing wrong with that. But around me, you don't have to pretend you're not in love with me! Never in a million years could I fall in love with the fake you that pretends she didn't fall for me! Everyone knew you had a crush on Luke anyway, so this is just like that! Not awkward at all! Although, I guess you never actually had a crush on him, huh? Anyway, I'm not leaving you, Annabeth. Not in a million years."

He had been looking up at the ceiling while talking, so that she didn't interrupt him, and now that she thought he was done, she was lightly grabbing his cheeks, indicating that she wanted to talk.

"I'm not done yet, Annabeth. I can say all those things, but I can't lead you on. I have no intention of falling in love with you. You're welcome to try to change that, but I wanted to tell you upfront. But even if I had no intention of falling for you... I'm not going anywhere. I'm never letting you go. I-"

Annabeth finally succeeded in wrenching his face towards hers, where tears were falling faster than ever. When she looked him in the eyes, her thoughts seemed to be heavily fragmented, it was perhaps a sign that she was very frazzled, or perhaps her emotions were dominating her usually analytical mind.

 _"Tears of joy. Love. Stay. Need. Want. Don't go. Love. More. Hold tighter. Don't care. Love. Want more. Lips. Love. Want."_

Annabeth had looked away once she made eye contact, sure she'd told him something embarrassing, her cheeks red as blood.

But Percy took her chin in his hand and forced her to look him in the eye. There was something she'd said... something he couldn't so easily ignore.

 _"Oh gods I wasn't thinking straight at all! What the hell did he hear? What's he doing with my chin? No wait, Percy-"_

There was silence until Percy blinked.

 _"Oh gods, oh gods, look at his eyes, they're so beautiful- no, Annabeth, he'll hear this! But gods I want him to kiss me! But it's not gonna happen, is it? It doesn't matter. As long as he lets me stay by his side, nothing else matters. He wants me with him even though he knows how horrible I am- nothing else matters! Even if he never touches me again after this, as long as he lets me stay by his side-"_

Silence. Percy knew he'd hear her thoughts again if he looked away and back again, so he didn't look away. He'd held this girl in his arms for too long to be held back by simple things like "I'm not really in love with her" or "She's not the one" or "I only just met her" or "If I do this I really will be leading her on."

So Percy held her gently, and pressed his lips against hers, closing his eyes.

Further details of this first kiss are not suitable for the current rating.

Later, after they had stopped kissing, with his eyes still closed, blushing gently, Percy said, "Just so you know, that had nothing to do with love. That was purely physical attraction and nothing else. You said nothing else matters if I let you stay by my side, so it doesn't matter if I kiss you without being in love with you, right?

Annabeth pulled them together again.

He didn't need to be able to hear her thoughts to know what that meant.

If someone had told him that by the end of that council meeting he'd make out with Annabeth and she'd be fine with him not even being in love with her, he'd probably have laughed and said, "Whatever you're on, you need to get off it."

He wasn't even totally fine with this himself. But, in the end, she was happy and he was happy, so... what exactly was the problem?

He opened his eyes, to find Annabeth's grey eyes staring at his.

 _"That was wonderful, you know. I really, truly love you. To prove my devotion, I swear on the river Styx I'll stay by your side 'til you tell me to leave, and when you want me back I'll drop everything to return. Though, I haven't said it out loud so I guess it's not binding."_

Thunder rumbled loudly in the distance, and Percy blinked, and Annabeth was grinning widely. It was incredibly cute.

 _"Hmm, I guess it was binding. I suppose I'm stuck with you now,_ honeypie _"_

"Do not ever call me that again. I'm not in a romantic relationship with you."

 _"That's fine. Can you carry me to the dining hall?"_

"Why would I do that?"

Annabeth's stomach growled loudly.

 _"Crying for hours on end can really tire you out, you know?"_

"But why do I have to carry you?"

 _"I'm a princess, obviously! You told me you'd never accept anything other than my true self, and I'm a horrible person. I'm not moving unless you carry me."_

"So you're trying to mark me as yours, huh? If you show up to the dining hall in my arms, no one is gonna question what our relationship is. You said you don't care even if I take a lover other than you, but you're still clearly trying to prevent that.

 _"Wow, he isn't actually a total idiot? He isn't very observant though. But, I guess there's no way he could know about... Well, anyway, this is wonderful! Kiss me again, Percy!"_

"Not gonna happen, Annabeth. It'll be a while till I make another mistake like that. Try again tomorrow, okay?"

 _"How about tonight? Me and you can... you know."_

"It's 'you and I,' Annabeth. I guess thinking with perfect grammar can be a bit difficult. Also, not a chance. For an abundance of reasons."

 _"Name one. It better be a good one, not like 'There's no privacy' or something."_

"Fine. How about, when I take you for the first time, I want you to scream my name out loud. In your current condition, it doesn't cut it."

 _"Wow, Percy, that was unexpectedly forward... I'm getting kind of... unghh... close your eyes Percy I don't want you to hear any more!"_

"You close your eyes, dammit! How is this my responsibility!?"

Annabeth closed her eyes, and didn't open them.

"Does a piggy-back ride count as carrying you? I can't just leave you here," Percy said after a few minutes.

 _You're indulging her too much, kid!_

 _Where the hell have you been!?_

 _Hiding in the very recesses of your mind. All this touchy feely crap makes me want to puke my brains out._

 _You can puke?_

 _Of course not, you imbecile! It's an expression, obviously. And you didn't have to offer her a damn piggy back ride! She was clearly bluffing. You can just say you're leaving and she'll have no choice but to follow you. She swore an oath on the Styx, remember? It's a powerful oath, most powerful kind in the world. It's not just a simple promise. You literally cannot break it. It will physically force you to complete the oath. If it's something you aren't able to do, the oath won't be accepted in the first place. Even if all she wants in the world is to run away from you, as a mortal, if you don't tell her she can leave, she physically can't do it. The wording of the oath is very important. She said by your side. In normal conversation, that would probably be taken metaphorically, but the Styx doesn't do rhetorical devices. She's a bit of a dunce._

 _She?_

 _The river goddess. Anyways, by your side has probably been taken to mean 'within a few feet of you.' If you tell her to leave, she can get away from you, but if you tell her you want her to stay again she has no choice but to come running. This chick thinks she's hot shit but she's seriously tied down for life. This will have huge implications. Try walking away from her now._

Percy stood up and started walking toward the door without thinking. Instantly, Annabeth was with him. She looked terrified when he saw her face.

 _"What the hell was that!? I was just fantasizing about getting a piggyback ride and suddenly my feet start walking on their own! I was so scared, Percy! I didn't... I didn't know what..."_

She grabbed o to Percy with tears in her eyes. At first he thought she was joking, but he realized that your body moving without you telling it to was probably terrifying. She had no idea what she was about to do. She could've tried to kill Percy, or herself, and she wouldn't have been able to stop herself. On top of that, she couldn't even scream.

"It must have something to do with your oath. You said you'd 'stay by my side' until I told you to leave. It seems the river of oaths took that a bit more literally than you. What a massive pain in my ass. I don't-"

Percy's face was grabbed by a frantic Annabeth.

 _"Please don't tell me to leave! I... I know that you have to so that you can get some breathing room, and that you can always call me back but-"_

Silence.

Instead of blinking, Percy stared into her eyes and said, "I'm not going to tell you to leave. I know why you're scared. You're terrified the only person who's accepted who you truly are is going to get sick of you, and then you'll be alone again. So you don't want to be apart from me for even a second. It's kind of cute how little sense that makes, really. So don't worry. You're staying right here with me. In the first place, we need to know if it's just me who can read your mind, or anybody. One of those would be utterly disastrous."

Then he blinked.

 _"Oh gods, you're right. I sure hope it's only you. I don't think I'll survive if I have to fake even my thoughts. My mind has always been my safe haven, since the day I was born. I don't mind sharing it with you, the man I love, but anyone else... I'd rather walk around naked, to be honest._

Percy wordlessly stroked her hair, telling her via touch that it would be okay. In her current state, she was smart enough to know what he meant.

 _"How can you say it'll be okay!? If my mind isn't secret, I'd rather be dead!"_

"Look, Annabeth, if worse comes to worst you can wear a blindfold or something. If for some reason that won't work... I'll run away with you. Promise."

 _The hell you will, kid!_

Annabeth looked at him with teary eyes and and a complex look on her face, indicating she was both surprised and her thoughts were being invaded by heavy emotion.

 _"Tears of joy. Happy. Love. Hungry. Want. Alone. Together. Love. Hungry."_

"Then let's go eat already. If you want to get on my back, then get on." Percy knelt down and the surprisingly light Annabeth hopped on, wrapping her legs around his stomach and arms around his chest, but he grabbed her legs and put them by his sides, as is normal for piggyback rides. He couldn't get her arms around his neck instead of his chest, so he didn't bother.

"Wow, you're light as a feather."

Since he couldn't see Annabeth's eyes, she was as good as mute, but she squeezed his torso once.

"I take it that means your happy?"

One squeeze.

"So it's one squeeze for yes, or good, two for no, or bad, and three for I need to talk so let me down and look at me?"

One squeeze.

"You don't want to be near me."

Incredibly fast two squeezes.

"Then, I'll take down the water barrier and we'll go. Sound good?"

One squeeze.

Before he let go of the water he'd been controlling for hours, he asked Annabeth in a tiny voice, "Hey, are you... happy?"

One squeeze. There was no hesitation.

With that, he let the water fall, and it felt like he could breathe again. He'd been running on empty for a while, but when he doused himself in water, he felt a hundred times better.

Three squeezes. Uh oh.

He let her down, realizing he'd not only doused himself, but her as well. Needless to say the daughter of Athena wasn't happy. Her camp T-shirt wasn't really made to be wet, so he could see her underwear through it. Grey. He turned his head away, only to have it be slapped. He looked her in the eyes.

 _"Don't look away from me like that, jackass! Why'd you soak me, huh? By the way, I couldn't care less you saw my bra, it's no different from a bikini, and you can already read my mind!"_

Blink.

 _"But tell me before you do that! I don't want other people to see me in my underwear! Now we have to wait here forever while our clothes dry!"_

Percy lightly touched the middle of her chest instinctively and her entire person instantly became dry. Though, she started blushing quite a bit, but it's not like he actually did anything indecent.

He also instantly dried himself. He felt weaker, but if she got on while he was wet she'd probably slap him again.

 _Damn kid, you're already whipped._

 _I am not. It's called being nice. I'm not doing anything unreasonable._

 _Careful, kid. Your 'nice' looks to others like 'unconditional love.'_

 _Can it, ghostie._

 _"Let me back on. I want to get back on."_

Annabeth was making an impossibly cute pouting face and her words sounded even cuter, somehow. It seemed that not only her thoughts were transmitted, but also her emotions. Her innocent desire to be physically close to Percy was inexplicably cute. He let her get back on. He was certainly the only man in the world to see that face on that girl. That was reason enough to bend to her wishes this time. He was also pretending he couldn't feel her breasts pushed up against his back, but he totally could, and to say the least: big fan.

"Well, let's go see if other people can hear you. Keep your eyes closed until I tell you to open them, and when I tell you, think the phrase "I want a piece of pizza over and over again. Well, whatever your favorite food is."

Three squeezes.

"No, you can tell me all your 'favorites' later."

One squeeze.

"Then let's go. And, needless to say, but leave the talking to me."

To say the pair attracted strange stares would be an understatement. Since lunch wasn't at a scheduled time, as with breakfast, people were coming and going all over. Everyone who saw them stopped whatever they were doing and stared. Was Annabeth knocked out? What were they doing together in the big house? People who had heard from their cabin heads that Annabeth had said some really crazy stuff were even more confused. New Cabin U members were just happy to see their 'Savior' as they'd taken to calling him behind his back. They'd tried to call him that to his face but he immediately nixed the proposal. He didn't want anyone to feel indebted to him, in true Savior fashion.

Annabeth couldn't tell, and Percy ignored everyone's questioning stares until he found Chiron at the Archery range.

"What on Earth happened, my boy? Annabeth... well, you were there, but that was hours ago. What in the world has happened in the meantime?" Chiron worriedly asked.

Three squeezes. She wanted something.

"No," He said softly but firmly.

One very weak squeeze.

"So, Chiron, sir, it turns out Annabeth was cursed somehow. She didn't really mean to say any of that stuff. She was possessed."

"I figured that must be the case. That wasn't the Annabeth that I know and love."

Annabeth started sobbing into his back. He understood too late. She wanted to avoid hearing something like that. Chiron was a replacement father for her, so for him to plainly say that the true Annabeth was not the Annabeth he loved... it must have devastated her. Percy realized how careless he was. All he could do now was try to salvage the situation.

"Yes, of course, but after she calmed down, it seems her voice was stolen some how, and she's understandably quite upset."

Annabeth was biting him and squirming with all her might, but Percy easily withstood it with help from the spirit.

"Anyways, somehow, ih*chomp* I can hear what she's, ihh *chomp**chomp* trying to say by looking in her eyes *chomp**chomp**chomp* Annabeth, look him in the eyes! Remember what we agreed on! Aah! *very large chomp*"

Annabeth peered from over Percy's shoulder, with a furious look on her face. She stared Chiron straight in the eyes.

There was no reaction other than "Is she alright? Are you alright? I'm sorry, I didn't hear anything when I looked her in the eyes. Somehow, it's only you that can hear her... but is she alright? She looks to be crying, but I can't really tell. What is she saying?"

Three squeezes. Three squeezes. Three squeezes. Over and over she squeezed three times in quick succession. She was so focused on getting Percy to let her down that even as he lowered himself to the ground she kept squeezing. She was clearly sobbing, and was having trouble opening her eyes to tell Percy what was wrong. As such, he kept getting weak, fragmented thoughts.

 _"Tears of anguish."_

 _"Said 'hate.'"_

 _"Not pizza."_

 _"Hate."_

 _"Alone."_

 _"Away."_

 _"Not father."_

 _"Hate."_

 _"Sorrow."_

 _"Apology."_

 _"Hurt lover."_

 _"Huge bleeding."_

 _"Hate self."_

 _"Evil."_

 _"Hate."_

 _"Horrible."_

 _"Better dead."_

 _"Kill me."_

 _"Deserve death."_

Percy couldn't take it. All these feelings of hate towards Chiron and herself, he had to close his eyes. He understood essentially what had happened.

When Chiron admitted he didn't love the real Annabeth, she lost it. To try to run away, she had bitten Percy's back to the point where he was bleeding heavily. Percy, having his endurance enhanced, hadn't noticed just how badly he had been bitten. Apparently, it was bad enough to qualify as 'huge bleeding,' and for that Annabeth hated herself more than ever. That self hate lead to the realization of more and more hatred she had for herself, to the point where she thought Percy would want her to be dead. She was no longer capable of rational thought. Incidentally, she had attempted to tell Chiron that she hated him, and that he wasn't her father anymore, instead of her favorite food, and she had immediately regretted it.

Percy's heart was in as bad a shape as his back.

Percy leaned down to her ear, and whispered so only she could hear, "Annabeth, listen to me. I can't hear you, my eyes are closed. So please listen. First off, I do _not_ want you dead, and you definitely don't deserve to die because of something as trivial as this. I know that you can't stop hating yourself because I'm telling you not to, but I don't hate you one bit. You aren't evil. You hear me? You're not evil! Secondly, you didn't hurt me nearly as badly as you think. Thirdly, Chiron couldn't hear you. Won't you come with me to the infirmary? Maybe they can even find some way to break the curse. Wouldn't that be nice?"

He opened his eyes.

 _"With you. Anywhere. Take me. Alone. Heal. Quickly. Thank you. Hurt badly. Apology. Sorry. Forgive me. Please. Love. Sorry."_

"Let's go to the infirmary, then. I'll carry you."

Percy didn't wait for an answer, scooping her up in his arms, and marching to the infirmary.

Chiron called after him, "Percy! Your back! You're in no condition to be standing, much less carrying someone!"

"I'm fine, Chiron. I'm a lot sturdier than I look."

Percy drew all the water he could from the surrounding air and doused himself with it. Since he was holding her directly, Annabeth didn't get wet at all. However, Percy's wounds started closing quickly, and soon there was no evidence of the horrible human bite marks that had pierced his skin and muscles all over his back. The water he gathered was absorbed and used as material for the replacement tissue.

To say Chiron was stunned was an understatement.

Annabeth had passed out from the intense emotions on the way to the infirmary, and all the way there people whispered about the strange looking bite marks on Percy's/Savior's shirt.

* * *

 **Review, or I'll kill you, and try to tell me something you think I don't know! Examples of things that are obvious so you don't need to tell me:**

 **Annabeth is OOC**

 **Percy is OOC**

 **This is totally unrealistic**

 **This story is super lame and cringy**

 **The spirit had like four lines what the hell**

 **Percy isn't even OP in this chapter (Well actually he had major blue balls and also most of his back was ripped off and he walked away like he got a scratch on his arm)**

 **So this is gonna be Percabeth? How lame (Nope)**

 **Is this just gonna be him OPing through the books? Lame (You'll see next chapter if this is true or not)**

 **Wow your spelling and grammar is really good**

 **This was super mushy and gross (hey, look at the genres. It's adventure/romance. Don't tell me you didn't know what you were getting into)**

 **:)**


	6. The Bargain

**This is the chapter where shit goes down, time and time again. Also, this is IMPORTANT: IT IS RATED M. THERE ARE NO LEMONS, BUT SERIOUSLY. I HAD TO CHANGE THE RATING. Anyways, make sure your body is ready. That's a nintendo reference, not a sex thing. If you don't like this chapter, I'm afraid I'm going to have to tell you that you shouldn't read this story anymore. Seriously, shit fucking goes down. This chapter is crazy.  
**

 **P.S. Maybe the viewership will be different now that it's M, but, apparently, no one fucking reads these A/Ns, since I clearly said not to tell me it's cringeworthy, since I already know that, but nearly every single review said that anyways.**

 **P.P.S. Even if everyone thinks it's garbage, I'll still write it. In fact, it's even easier to write because I don't have to worry about it being any good. Fuck "technically correct comma usage" that people reading this story probably won't be able to tell if it's correct anyways. E.g. "[blah blah blah], right Percy?" vs. "[blah blah blah], right, Percy?" The second one is correct, because it's an appositive, I think, or some shit, but who really cares in the first place, right?**

 **P.P.P.S. If you guys tl;dr(too long; didn't read) this I'll fuckin' bash you  
**

 **tl;dr: no lemons but it's inappropriate unless you're "17," also since it's cringeworthy anyway, I'll have no reservations.**

 **Disclaimer: Don't own PJO.**

* * *

Percy sat beside Annabeth's cot in the infirmary until she woke up. At some point, Luke had pulled up a chair as well.

"You know that only I'll be able to understand her when she wakes up, right dude?" Percy asked in his typical disrespectful manner.

"I think I'll be able to hear her," Luke said with an unsettling grin. Just what was he planning?

"We'll see," was all Percy said.

About an hour later, she finally woke up with a soundless yawn. She looked around, saw Percy, and smiled.

 _"I had a good dream. It was about us. We were walking on the beach, hand in hand, it was wonderful. Can we have a date like that soon?"_

"You are way too forward, you know that? Read the mood, for crying out loud. I've been sitting here, worried sick, for seven hours straight, and that's what you're telling me? Talk about no tact."

 _"I'm really sorry! I forgot about your back! Oh my gods, is it scarred? I ripped out more than a chunk or two! Even ambrosia and nectar has its limits! Why didn't you let me down, you dummy!? You really are-"_

Silence. Percy didn't blink. She nodded at him like she wanted him to. She blinked, but nothing was transmitted. How odd. It seems Percy had more control over hearing her thoughts than she had sending them. Seriously, that was freaky.

"I'm fine. Water heals me, you know, so there's not even a scratch left on me. Fletcher said I was a miracle case and that he'd never seen something so utterly ridiculous in all his life. He was at the archery range, and saw me heal myself. Besides, I'm not your only guest. You're being very inconsiderate."

Annabeth got a puzzled look on her face before turning her head to the other side and looking straight into Luke's eyes.

No reaction.

She turned back to Percy.

 _"Get him out of here. Tell him to leave. Tell him that you're the one who's going to take care of Annabeth, no matter what she tells you!"_

"Why in the name of the gods would I say something as ridiculous as that!? You tryna get me arrested or somethin'!?"

 _"I just want him to know that I'm totally yours! I don't like him at all anymore. After finding my real love, looking at my fake love makes me sick."_

"Well, I guess I can understand that last bit, but the first part makes no damn sense! If I said what you told me to, I'd sound like a creepy weirdo!"

 _"No way! You'd never sound like a creepy weirdo to me, no matter what you said! You could even tell me to get down on my knees and-"_

Silence. Percy closed his eyes and didn't open them for a long time.

"Thank goodness it got cut off before you finished that sentence," Percy said, his eyes still closed. "Any more and it would have been very dangerous."

Percy couldn't hear Annabeth with his eyes closed, but he couldn't open them in case she continued her thought from where she left off.

"If I open my eyes, do you promise not to continue from where you left off?"

But there was no response. He expected her to grab his arm, or tug on his sleeve, or something to that effect. But there was nothing. Something was wrong.

Percy opened his eyes to find something that made his blood boil.

Luke had grabbed Annabeth, and was in the opposite corner of the empty room, with a small steel knife pressed up against her throat. At the same, he was kissing her in a repulsive manner.

Rage fueled Percy's abilities. He felt the roar of the sea, and knew sea water was coming to him. It would arrive in a matter of seconds, and then he would wipe Luke off of the face of the Earth.

Luke stopped kissing Annabeth, who was crying silently, and said in a disgusting tone, "Make any move, she dies. Say anything, she dies. Reveal anything about this, she dies. You will not remember this encounter, and you will tell everyone you made up being able to hear her thoughts. If anyone finds out the truth, she will die. Do you understand, Percy Jackson, Savior of the Undetermined?" He said the last part like it made him sick.

What the hell was Luke's problem? Why did he hate Percy so much? Why was he threatening Annabeth? At least, his creepy grin earlier was now explained. He was going to make it that he would speak for Annabeth, and if she opposed him, he would kill her.

A ruthless strategy.

However, there were two points Luke could never have known about.

The first was the oath on the river Styx. Annabeth was not by Percy's side, but he had not told her to leave. Every second was agony. She didn't even notice Luke kissing her. Every muscle in her body made to return to Percy, but Luke's grip was stronger than steel. However, it was not so simple to keep her from moving when she was also biting and kicking. He became slightly distracted as a result.

Because of this, the second thing Luke could never have known about was able to occur.

Water from the ocean crashed through the window and doused Percy.

With every single ability he had being amplified fully by the spirit, who could not resist giving his full power to Percy's rage, when he focused on Luke's motions, time seemed to stop entirely. Without time to even form a sword, Percy charged forward.

He kicked beds and chairs out of the way, which flew through the walls and disintegrated respectively, but Luke had not yet moved a muscle.

It was very difficult to move in this way. His clothing was incredibly hot, but there had not yet been sufficient time for the fire to start. Somehow, the incredible heat didn't bother him. He realized it was his fire resistance, magnified to unthinkable levels.

Percy moved to the right of Luke in order to keep Annabeth from harm's way during his upcoming attack. He could see the countless sonic booms he created hanging, nearly motionless, in the air.

He dashed towards Annabeth, taking the knife away from her neck, and prying Luke's hands away from her. Both his arms were both ripped off without much resistance at all.

Percy was careful not to touch Annabeth after witnessing this. Instead, he punched Luke in the chest with all his strength and speed.

The chest cavity was pierced with no real issue whatsoever. Percy considered punching him until there was nothing left, but he decided the Hermes cabin should have something to burn.

It seemed rather unceremonious. Luke was dead. It was that easy. Percy felt a strong tug in his gut. He must be overusing his powers. Best to wrap up quick.

Percy jumped through one of the holes in the wall made by the beds in order to make sure they would not hurt anyone. After slamming all the beds into the ground and throwing all the bits of construction materials that were on collision courses with people far away, Percy returned to Annabeth. There would be several hundred sonic booms in this vicinity very shortly, as he could see them hanging in the air, compressed and ready to expand. At this speed, even the speed of sound was essentially at a stand still. He must be moving at speeds rivaling hundreds of thousands of miles an hour. By all means, he should not be alive. The friction with the air should be ripping him apart, but it wasn't. No mortal on Earth could challenge him in this state. Only gods.

Percy braced Annabeth in his arms, and set off as slowly as he could in this state to somewhere more private. Annabeth had mentioned the beach before, right? They'd go there. He kept Annabeth's neck and spine from snapping, but it was all he could do to keep her alive. At any rate, she could not stay in the epicenter of the destruction. It would be as if a full stick of dynamite had gone off.

As he left the infirmary with Annabeth, Percy noticed that Luke still had the exact same evil smirk on his face as when Percy entered this hypersonic state, despite the fact that his heart was no longer in his body.

 _Well, no change there._ Percy idly thought.

 _Nice one liner. A shame there's no one to hear it in this ridiculous state. I thought I told you I'd keep you to human levels while on Earth, but you went and used Olympus levels of power. I couldn't stop you from using my full amplification._

 _Wait, you're not amplifying me right now?_

 _How'd you figure that? I'm obviously amplifying you, but it was you who forced me to. Essentially, for the time being, you've hijacked my power. It's happened a few times before, in situations of extreme emotion. I guess you must really love that Annabeth girl._

 _I do not!_

 _Gimme a break. You just punched a man's heart out to protect her. Just how fucking alpha are you trying to get?_

 _Umm..._

 _By the way, you should take her up on her offer._

 _What offer?_

 _She totally gave you the go ahead to start a harem, dude!_

 _She didn't! And what are you so excited for?_

 _Well, it'll be exciting! Lots of people will get hurt by that. Delicious._

 _More like disgusting._

 _As a stupid idiot once said, "Can it, ghostie."_

Once Percy had reached the beach with Annabeth, he turned off the speed.

The massive amount of sand that blew right onto them was enough to smother the flames Percy became engulfed in, but it wasn't enough to mask the sound of a massive explosion a few hundred yards away. Annabeth looked around, bewildered, shock overcoming her thoughts, so when she looked at Percy, he heard fragments.

 _"Where? Doesn't hurt. Beach. With Percy. Good. Anywhere. Love. Happy. How? Don't care. Safe with Percy. It doesn't matter where I am as long as Percy is with me. But where am I? How did I get to the beach?"_

This was the first time that Annabeth had collected her thoughts while he was reading them. Since all of it was transferred at once, it was sort of odd to hear it suddenly change.

"Luke was going to take advantage of you. He had a knife to your throat, and told me to tell everyone I was making up being able to hear you. He said if anyone found out the truth, he'd kill you. Forgive me for not letting you talk, but I'm not done. Before he told me any of that... he was kissing you. I had no real choice but to end his life. I wasn't in complete control of my body. I swear all this is true upon the river Styx."

Thunder rumbled, proving Percy's words were true.

Annabeth was crushed. Just because she hadn't really loved Luke romantically, he was still an important person in her life. Emphasis on was.

However, she wasn't quite as crushed as Percy expected. In just a few minutes, she began to have thought other than 'evil' and 'betrayed.'

 _"Luke had been going crazy for a few years now. About how the gods don't care about us, and how we'd be better off without them. I figured he was just blowing off steam, since he failed his quest big time. But, I guess he finally snapped. One of his biggest points was about how the undetermined have been forgotten by the gods, proving how selfish they are, but you appeared and suddenly half were claimed, and the other half were told they were being watched closely for the moment when they did something proving their worth as a child of whomever, at which point they would be claimed. It went against everything Luke was lead to believe. I guess, since he was proved wrong, he figured he had nothing else to lose. I wish you hadn't had to kill him, but you swore an oath on the Styx that you felt you had no choice... I'm not someone who can make a judgment like this based on my emotions. I don't blame you for Luke's actions."_

All this was said over a period of many blinks, at which point Percy closed his eyes for several seconds.

 _"Percy, please open your eyes soon... I know it's wrong and I should be sad, but I really want to know how you killed him! I need to hear how you protected me! So open your damn eyes!"_

"Do you really want to know?"

The had settled into a somewhat familiar position for them. Percy was sitting cross-legged, and Annabeth was in his lap, hanging on to him.

She gave him a quick squeeze, meaning 'yes.'

"Then I'm going to need you to swear some oaths. Namely, that you will never willingly reveal any of my secrets. I'd also feel better if you swore never to hurt me, and such."

He looked into her eyes.

 _"Oh my gods, isn't this kind of like wedding vows? Is marriage really what I... Oh, gods above, I think I'm going to faint. Oh, he'll hear this. He's going to think I'm so pathetic. But he told me to be my true self with him, so I won't hold anything back."_

Blink.

 _"I swear on the river Styx to never willingly divulge any of Percy Jackson's secrets, to never willingly cause him suffering, and to remain loyal to him for all eternity."_

Thunder rumbled.

 _Wow, she really is a stupid girl! Doesn't she know that loyalty to that dunce means obeying every order!? Now she has to do literally anything you say! Almost like she's your-_

 _Don't you dare say it. I will never treat her like that. Besides, she added that loyalty thing all on her own. Don't involve me with that._

"Annabeth, this may be difficult to hear, but please do not think ill of me."

 _"Never."_

"In that case, I removed the hand that was holding a knife to your throat, and accidentally tore his arm off his body. I also removed the arm that was holding you to him, and also tore that arm off his body. I then punched his chest, but I accidentally tore a hole through him instead. Also, the explosion the other day was all me, caused by me breaking the sound barrier repeatedly. But I did it with a sword made of water, not by superheating the water and agitating it, causing a steam explosion. The Bullman had no weapon, so those gashes were me as well."

 _"My boyfriend is the strongest demigod to ever live!"_

"The only accurate parts of that statement were the words demigod and live. I'm not your boyfriend, and I'm not the strongest in history."

 _"I suppose you're more like my lord, or something, rather than my boyfriend, since I've sworn my eternal loyalty to you, but you haven't done the same. But you can't just call us friends after all this, can you!?"_

"No, I suppose I can't. I'm not going to physically restrict myself, since in battle it could mean death, but instead I'll swear a personal oath to you: I will protect you."

 _"You've done that already. You killed someone seven years your senior, widely considered the strongest demigod in this generation, in order to protect me. I don't need a solemn oath to be happy. Your actions speak much louder than any oath ever could. After all, your father broke his oath to sire you. You were told about the pact, right?"_

"Yeah, yeah, I was. Don't remind me of my joke of a father. What do you think we should tell everyone happened?"

 _"That's a good question. The truth? No, they'd never believe it unless you swore on the Styx. Even then, they might force you to swear loyalty to Olympus if they think you're a threat. No, I'd much prefer you to be free from something like that. But, since the gods all have their eyes on you, I don't think there's any way they aren't already calling a meeting to discuss what to do about you."_

"Hey, since I guess there's not much we can do at this point, and I don't really want to think about the fact I just murdered someone in cold blood, I'm going to change the subject. Didn't you fall in love with me a bit too quickly?"

 _"Oh, are you the expert in love at first sight? Though it wasn't at first sight. It was when you held me in your arms and took care of me, even when I was saying horrible things about you. You accepted me. I suppose my emotions were so imbalanced that at that point I had no way to distinguish love from gratitude. But whenever I look at you now, my heart beats faster, and my breath hitches. I can't explain why, exactly. But somehow, I just knew. I knew that you'd do anything for me. You'll never betray me. Since I clearly have abandonment issues... all those promises you made to me about never leaving me, and letting me stay with you no matter what, and I believed you, so... one might say you're irresistible to me. Somehow I know that you'd sacrifice everything just to protect me. And now that you've proven it... I want you even more. I never want to leave your side. I really truly love you. It doesn't matter to me about your personality, or your likes and dislikes. It probably sounds stupid. You probably think I'm a total fool and a lovesick little girl, but... I am. They say that love is a special kind of loyalty. To me, letting me stay by your side no matter what... that's the kind of love I want. Even if you take on other lovers, as long as you don't cast me away, it won't be breaking any promises you've made to me. You'll still be upholding your loyalty to me. I don't mind sharing you, if it means I can stay by your side."_

 **(tl;dr[too long; didn't read]: remember Annabeth's abandonment issues, and how she wants to be an architect to create something permanent? Well, she's convinced Percy will always be there for her, so she's totally attached to him. Also she said it's fine if he has mistresses.)**

This long rant was the product of many many blinks on Percy's part, and he was sure she'd keep going if he hadn't closed his eyes to talk.

"But Annabeth, surely there are other men who would be even more loyal. It's not like I'm the only one who'll be able to put up with you-"

Percy was cut off by Annabeth's lips on his own, which he was unable to stop, since he had closed his eyes. In his surprise, he opened his eyes and saw Annabeth's directly in front of his own.

 _"Plan success! I'm totally using this method to get his attention from now on! Gods, I love him so much."_

Percy pushed her off of him, well, she was still on his lap, but he got her face off of his.

"Annabeth, do not do that in public, please."

 _"Why not? Is there something wrong with us being together? It isn't all that far from my public persona to act deredere."_

"Deredere!? Where the hell did you hear that!?" **(A/N: Deredere means lovey dovey in Japanese. The term 'tsundere' comes from adding tsuntsun, meaning to turn away in disgust, and deredere, lovey dovey, and it means someone who acts cold to everyone but the object of their affection. In short, Annabeth's 'true' self is totally tsundere, since she essentially hates everyone except Percy and select others, but her public persona, while cold and calculating, makes an effort to get along with everyone. So, it's more deredere than tsuntsun, but it still isn't even close to deredere, and essentially she's just trying to get Percy to let her do it. Additionally, in my stories, don't take what anyone says about themselves at face value, because how many people do you know that can accurately describe themselves without over or under estimating?)**

 **(tl;dr: some Japanese shit, deredere means lovey dovey, the author is a total weeaboo but seriously those terms are convenient)**

 _"I know everything, Percy. I can't believe you'd think I wouldn't know that. So why can't I kiss you in public?"_

"For one thing, I'm not in love with you! If I kiss you or let you kiss me, it's because you're physically attractive. So it's not a show of affection, it's a very private matter that other people shouldn't see!"

 _You're fooling yourself, kid. You totally love her. You just don't want other girls to think you're taken. You rat bastard, you're totally planning to start a harem, aren't you!? Nice._

 _As if._

 _"Fine. But you have to let me kiss you in private then, okay? Please? Pretty please?"_

Percy was at his limit with the adorable pouting face she made. Maybe the spirit was right, maybe he was whipped. He'd probably kill a man if she told him to while making that face.

"What are you acting so damn lovey dovey for!? You're gonna make me do something I'll regret!"

 _"Yay! Then kiss me, dummy. Right now. I'm waiting. I loooo~o~o~ooove yooo~o~o~uuuu~u~!"_

"How the hell'd you made that noise in your head!? It was creepy. Say it normal next time!"

 _"Hehehehe! Okay then, I love you. There. Kiss me now?"_

"Aaagh! Look, Annabeth. It's not that I don't want to, but I can't. It's just not that kind of story."

 _"Yes, it is. Look, up at the top. The genre has clearly been Adventure/Romance the whole time. So it totally is that kind of story. So shut up and kiss me already!"_

"This has gone on for long enough. I'm not going to kiss you, and that's final."

Annabeth's face looked downtrodden, as he'd expected. He didn't want to upset her, but he just couldn't bring himself to kiss her. It just wasn't right. He felt weird about the whole thing. What was Annabeth to him? She was much more than a friend, and he somehow knew he'd never leave her. But was it love? Was it possible to love someone when a few hours prior you didn't like them at all? Percy thought hard about this. He needed to make a decision, right here, right now. If he kissed her, he was admitting he loved her, but if he didn't, even after she'd begged and pleaded, did that mean he'd never love her? That wasn't right, either. From what he'd seen... Eventually, he'd come to love her. So, he decided he'd tell her that. But, what about all this harem nonsense? Deep down, a lot of men dream of having multiple women. And that was only human men. He was half god, and the gods are famous polygamists, so it could be said the urge to be with multiple women was even stronger amongst demigods. Percy could feel the pull. He finally admitted it to himself. He did want more than just Annabeth. He knew in his heart of hearts he could never be totally satisfied with her. That was where all his anxiety about this whole thing lay. Did that mean he didn't love Annabeth? If he wasn't fully satisfied with her, didn't that mean she wasn't the one? Or, was it that for demigods, there was no 'one?' So, should he take her as a lover, but also take another? She said she would be okay with it, but would she? Would she truly?

Instead of opening his eyes so Annabeth could talk, he grabbed the back of her head, and bent down a little to kiss the girl in his lap. It was a gentle kiss, long, but chaste.

Eyes still closed, he bent to her ear, and whispered, "That wasn't physical attraction. I don't love you, it's true. But I care about you, and I have romantic feelings towards you. I wouldn't call those feelings 'love' just yet, but, I predict that eventually that's what they'll grow into. However... I'm not sure I can be fully satisfied with only you. There will soon come a day when I want someone else. I want to protect you from that. But, you said that, you'd be okay with it, as long as I let you stay by my side, but would you really-"

Three squeezes.

"Not now, I'm in the middle of-"

Three squeezes.

"Fine. What is it?"

When he pulled back, she was tearing up, but she looked composed.

 _"I love you so much. But also, you're an idiot. I guess you were too busy getting acquainted with your new cabin at breakfast to notice, and too busy falling off the edge of the Traveler's cabin bench at dinner, but this camp is full of polygamy. It takes a little getting used to, but it's totally normal here. We all have the blood of the gods flowing through our veins. It's just natural. The gods all have multiple wives, and consorts, and that sort of thing, so demigod men, sharing the nature of the gods, are heavily predisposed towards polygamy. Not every guy is into it, but most are. And... well... it's really embarrassing... but it's not just the guys that like it! For some reason, demigod women find a demigod man with multiple partners really really attractive! I guess it's like this: our urges move us to try to pass on the best genes to our children. If a man already has, say, three women, then other women see him and think, wow, his genes must be great! Three women all think he's worthy to pass on their genes, so he must be amazing!"_

"Uhh... that's... are you..."

Three squeezes.

 _"I'm not done yet! Look at me, dummy! It's all subconscious, no one is going around thinking that! But, it is true that even I found men with five or six lovers substantially more attractive, especially when they were all attractive women themselves, though of course I never really liked any of them personally... but, my point is that it's not just that I'd be fine with you taking on more lovers. I... I actually... I kind of... If you get more lovers then you'll be even more attractive and I want to know how that will feel! I want you to get a harem!"_

And just like that, Perseus Jackson's love life problems were all solved, or perhaps worsened substantially. With that admission, he finally knew he loved Annabeth, for some reason unknown to him. He knew that if other women fell for him, and he fell for them as well, he would take them on as lovers, at Annabeth's behest. It was as if something clicked within him. What was he so worried about? It seemed his combat life was just a game, so why couldn't his love life be? Wasn't life just a big game in the first place? If it's what she wants, and it's what he wants, then what was he waiting for?

"I love you, Annabeth. I'll do as you say, and take on attractive women as lovers, if I love them and they love me in return. As a son of a god, I'm confident that I'll have enough love within me to love all of my women the same as I love you, and I won't love you any less for it. Is that alright with you?"

Annabeth was crying, and her eyes were closed because of it, so all she could do was nod.

He kissed her red lips once and twice, and three times round again.

When she finally managed to open her eyes, she kept repeating the same thought. Though, it wasn't really a thought. More of an intense emotion.

 _"Love. Love. Love. Love. Love."_

It was all he could hear, and he was about to kiss her again when the spirit interrupted.

 _By the way, kid, you've been totally using your fate break power. Ever since you made the cabin. That absolutely was not supposed to happen. However, you killing this Luke kid seems to have been the final straw, and the fates are coming to get you. Lots of shit is about to go down, lol._

 _And you didn't feel the need to tell me until now!? Also, what in the world are you saying 'lol' for!?_

 _I thought it sounded funny, lol._

 _Well it didn't, it just sounded weird!_

 _You're being taken to were the fates are. Hold on tight to your new woman. If she gets left behind, every muscle in her body will be in excruciating agony until you return._

Percy was so worried Annabeth might get left behind that he even ignored the spirit's "new woman" comment, though he supposed it was actually correct.

Suddenly, the girl went limp in his arms, and his head felt like it was splitting open. He held Annabeth tightly, and shut his eyes.

When the pain subsided, his gut felt like it was being tugged hard. He had felt this when he started practicing water control. Come to think of it, he also felt this tug when he started building the house and when he punched Luke, but he had assumed it was just because he was using his powers to their limit. Turns out it was him unconsciously using his fate break ability.

He opened his eyes to see a pretty ordinary off white room, with one peculiarity in its construction. There were no doors, and no windows.

Of course, the weirder thing was the fact that there was a massive loom spinning billions of threads from it, with threads being constantly cut automatically, and new ones beginning at an even faster rate. There were also three old ladies in front of it.

They spoke in a freaky way, each one said a word and then the next in line said the next word. Creepy.

"Do **you** _like_ our **invention**? _In_ olden **times** , _there_ were **few** _enough_ people **in** _the_ world **that** _we_ could **do** _it_ ourselves, **but** _with_ billions **of** _threads_ to **deal** _with_ , we **essentially** _only_ deal **with** _the_ threads **of** _demigods._ You **know** _why_ you're **here** , _don't_ you?"

Percy shook his head like he was talking to an old friend, rather than three of the most powerful existences in the universe.

 **(A/N Fates speech patterns omitted from here on because it's a massive pain in my ass)** "Your impertinence truly knows no bounds, does it? Well, that's one of the reasons we're willing to work with you."

"I see. What?"

"We've brought you here to offer you a bargain. We'll hand over your thread without a fuss, and we won't let the gods kill you for being too powerful. We've also foreseen some rather _interesting_ events in the time to come, though they may not occur if you continue to break fate. But if they do come to pass, we won't hold it against you, and we'll even give you our full support."

"Sounds like an awesome deal so far, even though I don't understand half of it. What's the catch?"

"In return for this kindness we require your skills. Fate is sort of like a bone. It doesn't bend, much, and it won't break without heavy external pressure. But the similarities don't stop there. If fate is like a bone, then you have broken that bone. It will eventually heal on its own, but only if it's properly set. And, to put it plainly, it hasn't been set properly. You broke fate in two different places. Really badly. Events that were supposed to occur in four years time happened right now, without any sort of preparations. And thanks to the other break in fate, those preparations will never come to pass at all. As a result, all sorts of things have been messed up. But, fate's tremendous corrective force is already in play. It's already started to heal, but it hasn't been set properly. So, what we need from you is-"

"You want me to re-break fate. In order for fate to heal properly, you need to fix the things that have gone haywire, but no one else but me would be able to, since they can't go against fate, which has already started healing. That about it?"

"Yes, that is about it. So, will you take the deal?"

"Will I have to kill anyone?"

"Hard to say. Some people will have to die, but fate works in interesting ways. You see, every mortal has a set number of parts to play, be they good or bad. We want those to stay the same. We want as many people as possible to have as close as possible the correct number of parts to play. If they were supposed to die, they obviously have no more parts left to play. But because of all your meddling, they are now going to survive longer than it was supposed. So, all you have to do is convince them to stop doing anything important. Be that by killing them, or some other means. Of course, we'd also like the parts _you_ play to stay relatively the same, because of the tremendous influence you have over others. If you do everything we tell you to, then it should all work out."

"Deal. When do I start?"

The middle fate handed him a slip of paper.

"You need to get all that stuff done by the time summer ends. You don't need to do it in order, but it might help!"

The left fate pointed to a string on the loom-thing. "That one right there is yours. We've already tried to cut it, but it didn't work! The shears will probably only respond to you. Anyways, do you want to become immortal now, or keep growing?"

"I'll keep growing, thanks. I don't want to peak in sophomore year."

"Alright, then we'll keep weaving it for you till you tell us to stop. If you cut it, you'll die, but if we stop weaving it, you'll just stop growing. You'll be immortal, but you won't be subject to the ancient laws!"

The right fate said, "By the way, if you don't finish everything on that list by the time summer ends, we'll tell the gods to chop you into tiny little pieces!"

In unison, the previously somber, now jovial fates waved and said, "Bye bye! See you in a few months!"

The splitting headache returned, and when Percy opened his eyes, he was back on the beach.

"Annabeth, are you alright?"

Annabeth opened her eyes and said, _"Yeah, I'm fine. Just really tired. What happened? You were kissing me, and then I guess I fell asleep."_

Percy explained in precise detail what happened. He didn't bother keeping secrets from her, since she had sworn never to reveal them.

To say she was shocked would be an apt descriptor. When he showed her the list of things he had to do over the summer, she opened her mouth as if to groan, but of course no noise came out.

The top of the list read, "By the way, this is a super big secret! ;) If you let anybody find out who isn't sworn by the Styx to secrecy, even the gods, you'll be in super duper trouble, LOL."

"What the hell is this? Those old ladies are crazy."

The first item was, "Get a quest."

Written under that in smaller print was, "By the way, the oracle is probably gonna hate you for messing up her Great Prophecy. If she refuses to give you a prophecy, come see us again, LOL."

"Wow, they really are crazy. I suppose fate is pretty fucking weird, too, so it makes sense they'd be out of their minds."

Annabeth grabbed his head, since he wasn't looking at her.

 _"Let's go back to camp. The sooner we finish this list, the sooner we can take it easy. If you're all worried about this, you'll never be able to get another woman to add to your harem. Call me a nickname."_

Percy assumed that last bit was just her thoughts, rather than what she was trying to say to him.

"How about 'Smart Ass?'"

Two squeezes.

"Okay, what about 'Owlface'"

Annabeth cocked back her arm and punched him directly on the side of his head, a perfectly executed knockout blow. It felt more like a love tap to the amplified Percy, but he understood her intention.

"Alright, I guess that's fair. But it's not like you can make up your own nickname. 'Grey.'"

Two squeezes.

"Arrow. From arrogant."

Two squeezes with her nails digging directly into his skin. He didn't notice.

"Princess."

She kissed him, but still there were two squeezes.

"Only when we're alone, then."

One squeeze.

"This is impossible."

Three squeezes.

 _"It's only impossible because instead of a brain in your head, all there is is seaweed. Haha, Seaweed Brain! Your nickname is Seaweed Brain! I love Seaweed Brain! Hahaha!"_

Annabeth had a goofy look on her face, still overjoyed she was in a relationship with someone she loved, who loved her back. She would not be rational for a while. This morning, she had hated the man whose arms she was in. Now, she wanted his children. It was a pretty big change.

"Well, if I'm a Seaweed Brain, then... you're a... wise girl, or something.

One squeeze, followed by three squeezes.

 _"It's just stupid enough to be perfect. Wise Girl in public, Princess in private."_

Percy sighed. "Of course," he leaned to her ear, "Princess." He kissed her once again. Hey, he was a teenage boy. Let him have his fun.

While kissing a slightly less chaste kiss than the others, Annabeth indicated she wanted to talk, so he opened his eyes, not moving away from her, still thoroughly engaged in the activity at hand.

 _"I have a request."_

He bit her lip once lightly in response.

 _"When we go back, and we start talking to other people, oh gods, umm, uh..."_

He bit her once more, then blinked.

 _"I don't think I can keep my true self out of my thoughts, and you, gods, told me not to keep myself from you anyways, oh, gods above, so, what I'm asking, is..."_

He repeated the same action.

 _"Will you translate my words into better ones for me?"_

This time, he bit her lip twice. No. She had a heartbroken look on her face, but she lost no enthusiasm.

 _"Why not!? Please, Percy, I'm begging you!"_

Percy stopped kissing he long enough to brush her ear with his lips, before whispering, "Your thoughts are the best there is. I couldn't make your words better," and then biting her ear tenderly, and moving back to her lips to look in her eyes.

 _"You're very sweet, Percy. You're much too good to me. But you're so damn stupid! Just make me sound friendly but calculating! I'm sick of doing it. I want a break, so would you please do it for me?_

One bite.

They continued the activity at hand for several more minutes, before Percy finally pulled away.

"I'm sorry, I got a bit rough toward the end there."

It was true. He had started biting her a little bit harder and more often, and was worried about how she felt about it.

 _"What's he talking about? That was the best part! That was practically chaste compared to what I wanted him to do to me. Oh, um, you probably heard that, uh, this is embarrassing, close your eyes!"_

"Like I said before, close your own damn eyes!"

Annabeth put her index finger on his chest seductively.

 _"You know, no one ever reprimands me like that. I'd be pissed if someone else did it, but when you do it... I guess there's no anger? It's playful. But it gets me so excited..."_

Percy stoop up while holding her and averting his eyes.

"Alright, that's enough of that. Not on a beach, nope nope nope, that was it for today. Well, I could bring you underwater with me, but... what the hell am I thinking!? There's no time for this! Let's get to camp. Do you want to walk, or should I carry you?"

 _"Like this! Bridal style!"_

"No way. That's embarrassing."

 _"Remember what I said. If other girls see someone as hot as me with someone as attractive as you already were, I bet they'll jump you!"_

"I don't want that! Besides, we need to explain what happened with Luke, not play games. I'll hold your hand, but I'm not carrying you like I am now, got it?"

 _"Yes, master!"_

Percy almost didn't notice it. But he did. This already insane day just got even more insane. Annabeth was a masochist!?

"...What the hell did you say!?"

 _"I, I'm sorry! It just slipped out! Please don't think I'm a freak for liking that kind of stuff!"_

A freak, huh? Well, it was a bit weird, but Percy just didn't have that kind of personality that could judge people so quickly based on a single aspect. He tended to judge people based on their actions, and how they treated others. He supposed that was why he hadn't really had much of an issue with Annabeth's arrogance, once he got to know her a little better. She kept it to herself. She treated everyone respectfully, regardless of what she truly thought of them. Even if she wasn't a good person, she was still a... good person? It was strange.

Also, for some reason, he knew that she would give her life to protect her family, even if she thought she was better than them. Though, he'd never seen the slightest proof. Since he could read her thoughts, he thought he could get the truth out of her.

Because Percy was an idiot, he totally forgot the matter at hand, and asked, "Before I got here, would you have given your life to protect an Undetermined you didn't even know the name of?"

 _"Oh gods, he's gonna think I'm some pervert who loves pain or something when all I meant is that I want him to order me around... Wait, what? I know all their names. But, does he seriously think I'd be so cowardly? That's pretty insulting. Of course I'd protect anyone in this camp, whether they're idiots or not. Well, they're all idiots, though. Why isn't he saying anything? Oh gods, he's grabbing my head and forcing me to look at him! I'm getting so turned on right now! Not good, not good, he can hear me! Why aren't you saying anything, Percy!? Are you waiting for me to admit I'd save my own skin instead of saving my family!? I'd never do something like that! Well, I haven't left camp for eight years, so I'm not totally sure, but from what I remember about fighting wild monsters when I was getting here with my idiot friends, I'd probably stand and fight to protect them, even if I knew I'd lose, and I felt the same way about those two then as I do about everyone in camp now, so logically speaking, I'm sure I'd sacrifice myself to save an Undetermined. Even when I hated Percy I would've done the same for him. Yeah, I didn't lie. I wasn't sure at first if it was really true, I just thought I would, but now I'm sure I would. ... ... he's still not saying anything. He must think I'm a freak after all! Yes, it's true! I want you to hurt me! Spank me, whip me, do anything you want to me, master! GO AHEAD, JUDGE ME!"_ **(A/N if you tl;dr that, you will miss important info)**

Percy closed his eyes, kissed her lightly on the lips, and said, "...Wise Girl, I'm not going to judge you based on something as silly as that. But let's keep bedroom talk inside the bedroom. I'm Seaweed Brain outside, and you're Wise Girl. Right?"

 _"Got it, Seaweed Brain. But, when we're alone... no, not when we're just alone... when we're, you know, in the bedroom, so to speak, then, would it be alright, if... if we could be... a princess and her master? Please?"_

"Ah, uh, I suppose, if that's what you really want, then I'll be sure to accommodate you. Though, I wonder what the reason for it is? Why do you want to be treated like that?"

Annabeth slapped him before looking him in the eyes.

 _"It's only you who I want to treat me like that! If it was anyone but you I'd introduce their head to the ground while their body was still standing! You're a Seaweed Brain so I'll explain that what that means is I'd cut their head off! I didn't want this before now, okay!? It only just happened, when you killed Luke so effortlessly. But I think I know why..."_

"I'm sorry, I guess I didn't understand. I assumed you'd always been this way, I'm sorry for guessing such a thing. But, why do you think it is?"

 _"Well, I guess it's because I'm tired of being superior to everyone else. It's a lot of work being better than everybody, you know. It might sound like a joke, but I truly do think I'm better than anyone at this camp. Until you came along. Everything I had tried to do across eight years, you did in a single day. It was obvious which one of us was better. That's probably why I snapped at the meeting, too. The stress of hiding my superiority has been getting to me for months, and you were the straw that broke the camel's back, I guess. But now, because of everything that's happened, I can plainly say that you're better than me. You're a million times stronger, you're a million times better as a person, people like you a million times more than me. Of course, I'm a million times smarter than you, but in the face of everything else, it's utterly meaningless. That's part of why I love you, I guess."_

"But what does any of that have to do with... you know... what you want from me?"

 _"Geez, don't say it like I'm using you. Because I love you, and because I see you as my superior... I want to get rid of 8 years of stress. Finally there's someone who can make me feel like an equal. But feeling equal... that's not what I want. Since you protected me from Luke, all I've wanted... is to feel like a damsel in distress... again. I want to feel protected again. I want to feel as powerless as I did back then so that you can save me. I've never felt powerless before. It was such a liberating feeling. I guess to people who normally feel powerless, they'd get turned on by feeling powerful, right? But since I'm always feeling so superior, the feeling of 'I need to be saved' was so exquisite. I long to feel like that again. Maybe because of the Styx, I wasn't as concerned with my own safety. Maybe it was over so fast that I didn't have time to be scared. Whatever the reason, that event, instead of scarring me... all it did was make me want to feel helpless again."_

"I see, that makes sense."

Annabeth grabbed his face and said, _"There's more, you dummy! I've never been able to depend on anyone but myself! But when I was totally powerless, you rescued me without hesitation. I know that I can depend on you for anything. Since I've never been able to depend on anyone before, I really really want to. I don't really understand it, but I want to depend on you for everything. I want to need you for everything. I desperately want to need you for shelter, food, leisure, protection, everything. By making me feel weak, it makes me feel like I need you more, and I love that feeling. I'd go to great lengths to feel that way. I can already feel it warping my personality. And I'm terrified. Terrified, but also incredibly happy, because if something bad happens, I know you'll protect me. Wow, it seems that the longer I send you my thoughts, the deeper into myself I can see. I see... wow. I guess I don't need to worry that much. It's only changing my personality in very specific situations. I shouldn't act any differently nor feel any differently towards anyone but you."_

Percy was of course fascinated, but he didn't know how to respond, so he just said, "Interesting."

 _"There's still more. Looking deeply, I can see the most important reason for wanting to be ordered around and used by you. It's because of my oaths on the river Styx. I've never heard of this before, but it seems that the Styx ensures willing fulfillment of oaths by rewarding upholding them and punishing breaking them. In the case of punishment, it's obvious; your body is physically forced to complete the oath. If prevented or ignored, immense physical pain is caused. But in the case of rewards, it is complicated. By the way, as a daughter of Wisdom, sometimes I get premonitions about things, like you get with water. They're never wrong. I get way more than normal, which is why I'm so amazing. I'm telling you now because you seemed confused as to how I could know all this stuff so quickly. Anyways, in order to incentivize upholding your oath, the Styx grants various rewards, differing based on what will affect the person most. For example, a very chivalrous person will get a feeling of immense satisfaction upon fulfilling an oath, as if they helped someone in need. A violent person will get a feeling as if they have just won a difficult battle. As a daughter of Wisdom, I should get a feeling like I have just discovered something new, or maybe recovered some ancient lost knowledge. However... since I pretty much feel like that all the time anyways, the Styx seems to have decided to give me a different reward. Guess?"_ **(tl;dr: just bite the bullet and read it. It's interesting, promise)**

"I'd rather not. You have the advantage of speaking silently. I still feel like someone might overhear. I will patiently listen."

 _"Well, I guess that my Master, wow, I love saying that, a lot, umm... what was I saying? Anyways, apparently I'm 'a sexually repressed individual' so the Styx has seen fit to reward my fulfillment of my oaths with intense sexual gratification. Of course, it would be bothersome if these feelings were to interfere with my oath somehow, so it seems the Styx has taken to administering them at her discretion. Really, I'm very sorry, Master. It seems we won't have much privacy, since the Styx seems keen on watching me at all times, to know whether or not it's a good time to spring these feelings on me. I'm so sorry, Master."_

Percy decided it would take him a long time to get used to being called 'Master,' but he also decided that he could probably dig it, eventually. He also needed to know whether the Styx was likely to be hostile if she found out his true power.

"Do you think, if the river found out how strong I am, she would be upset, or interfere negatively with me somehow?"

 _"No, I really doubt it. Based on the stories I've heard about her, she loves strong heroes. To the point where I think it may even be possible to induct her into your harem, if you likewise fall for her. She's probably taken such a particular interest in me because she's fallen in love with you. Goddesses are like that. They hate admitting it, but most goddesses get smitten as easily as the gods do. But surely, you want to know why all this is the most important reason for me wanting to get ordered around by you, right? So I'll tell you. I swore essentially four oaths to you. To stay by your side, to never divulge your secrets, to never cause you suffering, and to stay loyal to you forever. Well, the first is obvious. Just by being near you, my reward accumulates. I have a feeling she lets out a little bit of it when it's just us, but there's probably way more stored. The secrets oath hasn't had an opportunity to be upheld yet, but when you confided in me earlier, I definitely felt something. The last two are the ones that make me want to be used by you, my Master. I get the feeling that if you are the one who causes me suffering, it counts towards fulfilling the oath of me not hurting you, despite the fact this makes no sense logically. However, naturally, I want to fulfill it. So, I want you to cause me pain. Because the reward increases based on the difficulty of the task, the more pain you inflict, the better it will feel. So, when you were biting me earlier, all it did was arouse me. And the final oath is the one that causes me to see you as my Master. Eternal loyalty."_ **(tl;dr: just fuckin read it)**

"Alright, I think I get it, no need to explain anymore."

Annabeth grabbed his head forcefully.

 _"Oh, I am so blessed, and yet burdened, by having a master such as you. If you had phrased that differently, you could have made me stop. Instead, you chose to mince words. I am less restricted, but my pleasure is reduced. You see, Eternal loyalty means 'absolute obedience.' I could never willingly defy your orders, no matter what. But if you don't phrase it as an order, I feel no need to comply. If you said, 'I want some orange juice,' it would be meaningless to me. But if you said, 'Bring me some orange juice,' I would have no choice but to comply. Of course, if you really gave me that order, I would have to set off to find the nearest source of either orange juice or oranges. But to do that, I would have to leave your side. If you did not release me, I would have no choice but to feel unimaginable pain. I would either be breaking my oath of loyalty, or my oath to stay at your side. A 'no win' situation. So please, Master, think before you order. Of course, it would be your decision to cause me untold pain, and I would gratefully accept it. Because you are my Master, and I am your-"_

"Stop. Do not say that word."

 _"Master, seriously? But I- please, Master, rescind your order! I beg of you, let me refer to myself how I wish! It is obvious who I am in relation to you! I will obey any order, for no compensation! You command my body, mind, and soul! There is no greater wish in my heart than to serve you in any way I can! It is obscene, it is lewd, it is deplorable, it is disgusting, but in front of you there is no question as to what I am!"_

"You are my lover. You are the principle member of my harem. You are my friend. You are a fellow leader of camp. You are my senior in terms of experience fighting monsters and living in this camp. You are my vassal, my knight who has pledged loyalty. You are my princess. Because you are all of these things, I rescind my command and allow you to tell me what you believe your relation to me is."

 _"You are my lover, my lord, my friend, my colleague, my junior in terms of experience fighting monsters and living in this camp, and you are my seaweed brain. For as long as you will have me, I will worship you as my god. Compared with your overwhelming power, benevolence, humility, and courage, I am as a human next to a god. No, that is wrong. I am lower than the dirt that the human treads upon when he is compared to a god. I am your slave. You are my master."_

Percy was, more or less, stunned at how she saw him. He knew the overwhelming arrogance she held first hand, so to say she ranked lower than dirt on a scale where he was a god... it was no less than an absurd adoration. He really needed to fix this kind of sentiment.

"You are wrong."

He didn't look into the girls eyes, but the look of shock on her face was more than enough to show how she felt.

It pained Percy greatly to say this next part, but he supposed he didn't have a choice.

"As my slave, you rank far above the strongest human. Perseus Jackson, son of Sally Jackson, does not accept the unexceptional as his slaves. Only the greatest mortals will be given the privilege of serving me directly."

When Percy looked at Annabeth, her face was totally relaxed, to the point where her tongue was hanging out of her mouth.

 _"That was... did I just? Oh gods, that was amazing. I didn't know it was possible to feel like this."_

Percy was in danger of entering the same state as her just by hearing these thoughts. He needed to explain, so he wouldn't be struck with a curse as Annabeth was, or something.

"Just to be clear, I rank well below a god, and slave is a very subjective term in this case. I do not in fact own Annabeth Chase, and I have no plans on owning anyone in the future, either."

 _"I know, Master. Your humility is something to be admired, Master. Hehe, I like calling you that. It sounds so dirty. Master. Please allow me to be your servant from now on, okay, Master? Only when we're a Princess and her Master, of course. I won't ask you for more than that. Gosh, we're being so lewd, aren't we? It's a good thing this story's rating changed to 'M,' huh?"_

"Wait, it did? When did that happen?"

 _"When this chapter went up. It's almost too lewd for the author to even write. It's so utterly ridiculous that he barely even has a single iota of fuck to give that he's breaking the fourth wall right now. Seriously, he doesn't care at all."_

"Well, he keeps telling everyone it's a personal project, so I guess it's fine that we're talking about breaking the fourth wall. I mean, that kind of balls to the wall go big or go home fourth wall break is rarely seen. Referencing the fact it's a story is a relatively simple concept that happens on TV and in movies and cartoons and stuff all the time, but they don't go and outright reference the fact that they're breaking the fourth wall!"

 _"It's crazy, you're right. What are we supposed to be doing again, Seaweed Brain?"_

"Oh right, it's the end of the chapter, so there's gonna be a sort of line, and then when the next chapter starts, we'll be talking to Chiron about what happened to Luke, pretending we weren't talking about any of this."

 _"Sounds good to me. Goodbye kiss?"_

"But we're not separating. We'll be together the whole time."

 _"Just kiss me, you idiot!"_

He did.

* * *

 **I told you I'd figure out a reasonable explanation, didn't I? Totally justified Harem!Story right here, booyah. Also, don't worry, the spirit hasn't forgotten about his week a year. He's carefully planning that week. Please don't review just to tell me who should be in the harem. While I'm sure I could come up with a plausible explanation for him to be with any character, I already more or less know who it's gonna be. Also, I sure hope the readership is at a high enough level to survive the move from T to M. Maybe more people will enjoy this chapter who already read M stuff in the first place.  
**

 **Also, please do not waste your time and energy giving me shit about what we learned about Annabeth's fetish. Obviously nothing like that happens in the book, but in this story she spent an additional four years in camp, her hubris eating her alive. That can really change a person. But the bigger issue is that I'm sure someone will be all like, "No one derives sexual pleasure from feeling worthless, you disgusting pig. You don't know what it's like to feel that way, if you did you'd never be able to joke about it," and things like that. I won't go into specifics here, but A. How could you possibly know that? Are you in fact every person? And B. I very much know what it's like to feel that way. Please keep an open mind. Besides, this Annabeth clearly has a very high opinion of herself, and is excessively proud about every aspect of herself. Who's to say she doesn't get turned on by someone she loves humiliating her in a safe private setting where there's an unshakeable bond of trust between every party that every action is done with love and care and that no matter what is done and said, when it's over everyone involved will still feel the same way about each other and themselves? It's the same thing as when rich, successful businessmen go to professional dominatrixes to get ordered around. In a way, if you think willingly wanting to get ordered around and humiliated for sexual pleasure is morally wrong, then maybe you should shut your fucking kink-shaming face-hole and go directly to hell.**

 **(BTW, 50 Shades of Grey is abuse, not BDSM. That's the extent of my knowledge. Sub and dom (look it up) roles end outside the bedroom. Controlling someone else's entire life is literally slavery, not BDSM 'slavery' and definitely not BDSM at all)**

 **If someone tl;dr's this A/N and repeats complaints I already addressed, they will be shamelessly embarrassed in the middle of the next chapter in-story randomly by the characters themselves (unless I judge it to be a joke[but please don't make your entire review a joke, it's totally unhelpful)**

 **Review, or I'll kill you.**

 **P.S. I'm thinking of just skipping the A/N's from now on, unless you guys tell me not to.**


	7. The Joining Part 1

**Lol not time for A/N's, it's part one of this chapter, so next chapter will be longer and have a huge A/N.**

 **Don't own PJO.**

"I'm sorry, I'm just having a hard time understanding. Luke truly did all of those things?" Chiron said, his face deep in thought. He was clearly very conflicted.

"Yes, he did. Please, listen to Annabeth's side of the story. After I finish a sentence, she'll tap on the table once if I said it properly, and twice if I'm trying to fool you."

"Alright. Please, begin."

Percy looked into Annabeth's eyes, and got the first part of the story.

"Well, I woke up and saw... Percy-"

Two taps.

"Already? What are you hiding, Percy? I don't understand."

Annabeth had told him, _"Well, I woke up and saw this hunk, so I started talking to him."_

There was no way he was saying that to Chiron. Why was she causing trouble?

He leaned in close, and said, "Wise Girl."

He hoped she'd figure it out. He meant "We're in public, so please do your best to act like you normally do."

Immediately the smile dissolved from her face.

Percy began again, saying, "I woke up and saw Percy, so I started talking to him."

One somber tap.

"I also saw Luke, but I couldn't converse with him, so I didn't."

One tap.

"Because of how I talk now, it's sometimes necessary for Percy to close his eyes for long periods of time."

One tap.

"However, one time when he did that, suddenly I wasn't in bed anymore."

One tap.

"I saw a knife on my neck, but I couldn't scream in the first place."

One tap.

"Luke started kissing me. I squirmed as hard as I could, and tried to bite him, but."

One tap.

"He was too strong for me. When Percy opened his eyes, Luke started talking."

One tap.

"He basically told him that if he did anything to help me, he'd kill me."

One tap.

"His plan was to pretend he knew what I was saying, and if I tried to tell anyone."

One tap.

"Then he'd kill me. But then, water crashed through the window."

One tap.

"As soon as the water hit Percy, I was on the beach with him. I must have hit my head, or something."

One tap.

"Percy explained what he did, and swore on the Styx he hadn't meant to kill Luke."

One tap.

"I cried on the beach for a long time. When I regained my senses, we came back here."

One tap.

"The end."

One tap.

By the way, Percy had lucked out. If Luke's body was discovered with no arms and a hole through his chest, it would have been hard to explain using the excuses he had made before.

Luckily for him, the huge number of sonic booms, as well as the damage from punching him so violently, had rendered Luke into nothing more than a bloody pulp, utterly unrecognizable. The steam explosion excuse somehow worked a second time, explaining the explosion. Luckily he didn't have a sword this time, so there were no gashes to explain. At any rate, that is why Chiron was having trouble believing it was really Luke. Percy could have been mistaken, but Annabeth couldn't.

 _"Tell Chiron that Luke turned traitor. He died a villain. Make sure he knows that. Make sure there is no sympathy for that evil man."_

"Really? That's pretty vicious. But, I'll do it," Percy said begrudgingly.

"What's vicious? You'll do what?" Chiron asked nervously.

"She wanted me to tell you that Luke turned traitor. He died a villain. She doesn't want anyone to have any sympathy for such an evil man. And I don't blame her. He betrayed her, sexually assaulted her, and threatened to kill her. She was going to be his puppet. I don't have any sympathy for him, that's for sure."

One tap, repeated slowly.

 _"Thank you, Percy. I... I don't want to think about what he did to me. I'm a pretty pragmatic girl, so I'm not as upset about him forcefully kissing me as I was when I first found out, because I already gave my first kiss to you, not to mention I didn't notice because of the agony from being forced to break my oath, but I'm still fucking pissed at him. He died a way bigger idiot than Thalia! He was supposed to be my brother! What kind of brother does something like this. He promised he'd never hurt me. I don't want to think about it. I don't..."_

"Then don't. I'm here for you, and he's gone. No one is going to judge you for letting it out."

Annabeth leapt into Percy's arms, crying silently, in her heartbreaking way.

"What did she say?" Chiron asked gently.

Percy didn't need to hear her thoughts to answer. "It's a personal matter, Chiron. I'm sorry, but she wouldn't want you to know. But please, tell people not to bring this up with her around. Tell them to seek me out while I'm alone."

Percy saw her eyes, filled with tears.

 _"Not alone. Stay. Protect me. Stay. Together. Please. Love. Hold. Sleep. Not alone."_

Percy leaned to her ear, "I'm sorry, my love. I can't stay with you tonight. I'm sure your brothers and sisters will take care of you until morning. So, go."

The seal binding her to him was released.

She held onto him tighter than ever.

She looked up at him frantically. _"Please, tell me you want me back! Please! I didn't think I'd hate this feeling so much! I forgot how lonely freedom is! Take me back! It feels like my heart is getting torn apart! If you care about me at all, you'll tell me you want me back!"_

Why was this hurting her so much? She must know it's only for the night, but...

"I want you back."

Her grip loosened.

 _"Gods, that hurt so badly. When the oath released me, it felt like I was freezing. It felt like I was totally alone, no matter how tightly I held you. Like warmth had been all around me since I took the oath, and then suddenly it was gone, replaced with burning cold. The emotional pain... I've never felt anything like it. In contrast, when you said you wanted me back... I'm incredibly turned on right now."_

Percy's eyes widened comically when he heard all this. Or, maybe it was due to the fact that Annabeth had managed to twist and turn her body so that the way he was holding her seemed much less protective and much more seductive.

Chiron coughed, then looked up at the corner of the ceiling, blushing slightly.

"Well, you two, er... while we were just talking about the death of a traitor a few moments ago, you are children of the gods, so I guess it's to be expected... But that behavior is totally indecent! As the kids say these days, 'Get a room!' Ahem. Also, Percy, you may not have been informed of this, but there is no rule against people sixteen and over sharing a bed, though privacy may be limited. The ancient Greeks were considerably more promiscuous than today's standards, so this sort of thing isn't at all uncommon around here. It is a camp filled with teenagers, after all. I may have overheard a bit of what you said, but you're totally free to invite her to sleep with you. I believe it was discovered that many individual rooms were added to Cabin U, so you may even be able to do so in privacy. Anyway, as long as you two keep what belongs in the bedroom in the bedroom, I have no problems with this relationship. May you experience true happiness together."

 _"Tell him 'thanks.' Even though he lost the right to give me away when he confessed he didn't love the real me, it's still nice to receive his blessing. It gives our situation a feeling of credibility. Like it's not just some ephemeral entanglement of the heart. Of course, there is nothing ephemeral about an oath on the Styx, but any acknowledgment of our bond makes me feel even more in love. I love you so much, Percy Jackson. Don't forget that. Oh, and I expect to share a bed with you, in private, tonight. I don't care if you have to kick people out of their beds to get a room. Seriously, I couldn't care less about your stupid cabinmates. I try to get along with everyone, so I know them all. I'm better than all of them. So I don't give a shit if you have to kick them out."_

She said all this, but she did not reposition her body against his, remaining in this state of high sexual energy. He might lose his sanity at this rate. He drew a bunch of water from the air and dropped it on her, as well as himself. Cold shower was the idea, but he forgot about the fact he could see her bra when her shirt got wet. He instantly dried her.

"By the way, Chiron, she said 'Thanks.' So, can we go to dinner now?"

"Yes, it's about time. I'm thinking of making Cabin U's dinner tables to be open to any demigods. And it isn't just so you two can keep being near each other, that would be utterly foolish. I meant what I said, no PDA! Or whatever, if that's what it's called. I'll make the announcement to the camp before we start eating, so don't worry about a thing."

* * *

Percy and Annabeth had walked hand in hand to the dining pavilion, and sat down together at the cabin U table, drawing numerous stares, mostly of jealous people. Annabeth's 'Ice Princess' face and body language was cranked to the max as soon as she left the Big House, though she held Percy's hand quite tenderly.

"What's she doing here, Sa-Percy?" someone asked, remembering he wasn't to be called 'Savior' to his face.

"She got cursed, or something, and for some reason I'm the only one who can understand her. Also... well, I'll let Chiron tell you the basics first."

Annabeth sat so close to Percy they were touching, even though her face expressed no particular emotion.

Soon, a boy who looked a bit older than Annabeth, who had her hair and eyes, sauntered over.

"Annabeth, what's going on? Why are you sitting with these guys?" He wasn't particularly rude, but you could tell he held the same arrogance as Annabeth. However, his arrogance and hers couldn't even be compared. His wasn't cute at all.

Percy looked in her eyes, receiving her message, and said to the the man, "She's sitting where she wants to sit."

The young man got a dangerous glint in his eye.

"Let her speak for herself, asshole," he said slowly.

Percy looked at Annabeth and said, "What exactly am I supposed to say to that?"

She looked at him.

"Got it," he said. He turned to the boy and said, "Malcom, go back to your table, sit down, and shut up. This is an order from your cabin head. I'm currently unable to talk, but this man can understand me perfectly. I, Annabeth Chase, will now present you with a thumbs up, as verification that he has relayed my thoughts perfectly."

Malcolm looked absolutely perturbed, but when he saw Annabeth giving him an emotionless thumbs up, he had no choice but to return to his table.

"That was weird," said the 16 year old Ethan Nakamura.

"So, Percy, you totally blew up the infirmary, right? Why'd you do it!?" said the 14 year old Japanese immigrant twins Yuusuke and Sasuke at the same time, which was truly freaky for Percy. It reminded him of the fates.

There was a murmur of agreement across the table. It seemed all of cabin U believed the only one strong enough to demolish a building in an instant like that was their Savior.

Percy felt a tug on his sleeve, so he turned to Annabeth, thinking she had some advice for him, only for her to say, _"Why'd you do it, why'd you do it!?"_ in a mocking tone.

"I don't want to hear that from you, Wise Girl. Anyways, everybody. It was me, but it's no laughing matter. Wait for Chiron to tell you what happened. It's not pleasant, so I'd rather you hear it from him. You may not even believe it, because I'm so new around here, and I wouldn't hold it against you."

Tug tug.

"Annabeth would like to say that she absolutely _would_ hold it against you, but that's just because she was very affected by what happened. In any case, believe what you want."

Thumbs up.

Eventually, Chiron entered the pavilion, and stamped his hoof to get everyone's attention.

He basically relayed Annabeth's version of what happened word for word, but added in Percy's (bogus) description of the fight.

There was pandemonium. It seemed all Percy had done since coming to this camp was cause uproar after uproar.

Chiron settled everything down with a stamp of his hoof.

"Annabeth, is what I've said true?"

He probably expected her to tap once, or maybe give him a thumbs up, but she banged on the table a complicated series of hits. When she was finished, the Athena table all started shouting and hollering loudly. No one could understand what on earth they were saying.

Chiron again smashed his hoof onto the concrete. If he'd had human feet, they'd surely be mangled beyond repair, Percy thought idly.

 _Yeah, I think he might even be breaking the floor._

 _You're a bit late for an entrance. You're having fewer and fewer lines recently._

 _Don't remind me. This story is supposed to be about me, you know. Bargain to change the world and all, you know? That refers to my deal with you._

 _It does? I thought it was talking about my deal with the fates. Since they literally offered me a bargain to change the world. That was the payment, not just an effect._

 _Shit. You're right. Dammit, I really thought I was the second main character. If OC in the character list doesn't refer to me, who the hell does it refer to?_

 _I thought that was obvious, spirit. OC refers to the massive out-of-characterness displayed by nearly every character, so collectively, the author is summing it up by saying everyone other than me is an OC._

 _Kid, you don't act like yourself even a little._

 _Really? Are you sure? I hadn't noticed._

 _Oh, I suppose I'm wrong. Even though you have more insight now, you're still as oblivious as in the books._

 _Hey!_

"Cabin of Wisdom, what did she say?" Chiron asked sternly.

Malcolm answered.

"She used Morse code to say 'Every word.'"

The campers went berserk.

They no longer knew friend from foe. It was madness. If the most respected member of camp went crazy and betrayed them like this, who could they trust?

Suddenly, one of the oldest Undetermined shouted, "Defensive wall around Percy and Annabeth! Retreat to Cabin U!"

Against the weight of the mob, Percy had little choice but to comply. That is, if he didn't want to hurt them.

The circle containing Percy and Annabeth left the pavilion and headed straight for Cabin U.

No one was chasing them at first, but when they started running, of course there were pursuers. Everyone was totally caught up in the adrenaline of the situation.

When they finally reached Cabin U and slammed the door shut, both doors suddenly seemed to vanish into the wall, and celestial bronze bars rose up into the window wells.

It was like a maximum security prison. Only, it was keeping people out, not in.

Well, really it was doing both.

It was Percy's first time seeing the cabin since he'd built it. The first floor seemed to be a lounge, with vibrant blue sofas arranged in a circle around a brazier that seemed to be magically maintained. The brazier, apart from fire, had a rainbow contained within as well. There were golden drachmas arranged neatly around the pink granite wall that surrounded the flame. He imagined that when he offered it to Iris, as he'd been shown, the drachma would return directly to where it was before. He wasn't sure what the other fifteen were for, though. There was only one rainbow, and he could tell they magically replenished if you used it for an Iris message. Odd. There were at least a dozen sofas, as this was the only thing in the room, which was huge, at 50 feet by 50 feet. By comparison, the other cabins were only 30 x 30, and they were only one story. A relatively big house in America most likely wouldn't even have a single dimension of 50 feet, though most were bigger than the cabins.

Percy noticed something else peculiar about the fireplace/brazier. At the base, there seemed to be some sort of digital counter that read '3017.'

"Huh, that's exactly how many extra blocks I had after finishing building this place. Weird."

Everyone besides Percy and Annabeth immediately relaxed once they were in the cabin. It was as if no thought of fighting remained in their heads. If seeing all their exits closed off worried them, not a single person showed any sign of it. Some sat down on the sofas, and some went upstairs, but none showed any interest in the pair. The two felt a calming presence, almost like it were telling them violence was never the answer. Peace begets peace. Oh, then it was probably the mother of Curtis, Eirene, or something. Goddess of peace. Her contribution to the cabin was likely this calming atmosphere. As incredibly powerful demigods, however, Percy and Annabeth were able to resist it for the most part.

Tug.

 _"What's that number for? This place is awesome! Let's go get it on!"_

"In order, I don't know, I agree, and absolutely not. You may be my lover now but I'm not ready for that. Neither are you, I think. You assume you are, but let's wait, okay?"

 _"Okay... but you'll let me sleep with you tonight, right? You promised."_

"Actually, I did no such thing. But, alright. But just sleeping, okay? That's all.

 _"Okay! By the way... I sleep in the nude."_

"You've gotta be kidding me."

 _"Yeah, you got me. I was joking. Totally joking. Except actually I do sleep in the buff during the summer, dummy, but I'll take what I can get."_

"I heard that, Wise Girl."

Using the name 'Wise Girl' told Annabeth that someone was watching them. It was the twins, Yuusuke and Sasuke. They were both guys, if you've forgotten and don't know Japanese naming conventions.

"Are you guys boyfriend and girlfriend? Everyone upstairs is asking," they said in their creepy unison voice. Individually, their voices were high pitched and somewhat cute, but together they sounded more like a demon.

Tug.

 _"We are, obviously, so tell them yes. Also, they're both fools, but even they should know what you mean if you say that I'm your woman but you aren't taken. I'm sure there are a lot of women who are even more interested in you now that you've got me. This could be your first chance to make a good impression as an eligible bachelor!"_

Percy was about to retort that he was in no way a bachelor, but he thought better of it.

His personality and his attitude towards romance had actually changed a bit once he found out Annabeth wanted him to take multiple lovers. He had almost no trouble telling the kids, "She's mine, but I'm not taken."

The twins laughed and jubilantly skipped up the stairs.

He was a little worried he'd sounded too possessive, but when he saw Annabeth's face he decided she was definitely not upset. She was not a normal girl. Acting possessive of her, since she herself wished to be possessed by him alone, was something that could only make her aroused. Other girls would have reacted negatively towards his show of jealousy, but Annabeth's breathing quickened and became labored, and her grip on Percy's hand kept tightening and loosening. The look in her eyes made her look almost like she was...

 _A bitch in heat, right? Afraid to admit it to yourself, huh? Don't worry, it's just the honeymoon period, she won't be this lustful towards you forever. I'd suggest striking while the iron remains hot._

 _Just shut the hell up, would you?_

Percy had the vague feeling that Annabeth had told him something when he looked in her eyes, but the spirit had spoken at the same time. She was completely drowned out.

"Um, did you say something just now? I couldn't hear you." Percy had a pathetic grin that clearly indicated he was embarrassed.

The look Annabeth had on her face was one of pure fear.

 _"What!? He didn't hear me? Is it a joke? No, that sheepish grin could never be faked. This is bad. I don't want to have to write everything down! I want Percy to hear my thoughts! I want to depend on him!_

"Calm down, Wise Girl. I... well, I'll tell you tonight. Just tell me what you said before, I'll definitely hear you from now on."

 _"Well, I'm not sure I can repeat what I said just now, it was so embarrassing. But, well, the gist of it was that I am really looking forward to when we have intimate relations for the first time. You said you wanted to hear my scream your name... the thought it just so erotic!"_

"Alright, alright. I promise that I'll consider it once you have your voice back."

 _"Yes!"_

Percy's stomach growled loudly. He'd eaten a bit while Annabeth was asleep earlier, but it wasn't nearly enough then, certainly not after moving at the insane speeds he had after that. Actually, this entire day had been absolutely absurd. As soon as he ate, he wanted to fall asleep.

"Damn, I'm so hungry!"

A few demigods turned their heads towards their Savior, but it was one of the recently claimed who spoke.

"Then just get some food from your kitchen," said the 15 year old boy named Victor, son of Dike.

An undignified noise escaped from Percy's mouth before he could stop it, sounding something like, "Ihh?"

Victor laughed and said, "That's right, you haven't been upstairs yet. Just go up- it'll all make sense once you do."

"Oh. Cool, thanks, man."

Percy walked up the stairs while Annabeth continued holding his hand. He tried to tell her that was dangerous, but she wouldn't hear of it.

"Wow."

That was all he could really say when he saw the absurdity before his eyes.

 _"I know exactly how you feel. Wow."_

The second floor was as big as the first, but it was fundamentally different.

It looked like a child, age 6's bedroom.

Except it was enormous.

The floor was carpet, the ceiling had wallpaper making it looked like the night sky, and the walls were painted an obnoxious shade of blue, one even the blue-lover Percy could not forgive. Indeed, perhaps he should have been the most upset with the color, for in his eyes it was a travesty, an affront to the majesty of the color blue.

But he barely even noticed any of that.

There were two things far more disturbing than the gross color of the walls.

The first, and most obvious, was the bunkbeds.

This was what filled most of the enormous room.

There seemed to be fifty bunkbeds, giving 100 people a mattress to sleep on.

But Percy could not imagine anyone wishing to sleep in any one of the beds.

You see, they were not ordinary bunkbeds.

No, they were different.

They were racecar bunk beds.

Every single mattress was surrounded by plastic walls, with plastic wheels in the appropriate places.

These features made every single bunkbed look like a racecar with a second racecar suspended above it with metal bars.

"Ten years old..." Percy whispered.

There came a tug on his sleeve. He ignored it.

"Ten years old is the last age I thought a racecar bed was cool! This is utterly ridiculous! Who came up with such a ridiculous idea!?" Percy roared.

Then he noticed something red peeking out from behind one of the beds. Annabeth froze. Gradually, the red thing exposed more and more of itself, until it became clear it was a mop of hair. It was attached to a little girl, who couldn't have been more than five or six.

Annabeth's breathing was totally regulated, as if she was forcing herself to take each breath. Her hand gripped Percy's own so hard he was afraid she might hurt herself.

"It's just a little girl, Annabeth."

Two squeezes.


	8. The Joining Part 2

**Continued from Part 1 of The Joining**

Percy ignored her, and called out to the adorable redhead.

"Hey there, little one. You can come out, we're not gonna be mean."

An adorable voice came out of the adorable body.

"Promise?"

"Yes, I promise. Cross my heart and hope to die."

"Okay, Mister."

The girl walked slowly towards them. Annabeth's breath felt more and more labored as the girl came closer. What was her problem? This girl was adorable.

In the back of his head, he remembered that there was no member of Cabin U under the age of fourteen. Weird.

The girl stopped right in front of them, looked up, and unleashed an adorably bright and innocent smile.

Of course, the girl was cute and adorable to Percy only.

To Annabeth, it was a demon, plain as day. A demon inhabiting the body of a little girl.

The intent behind the smile was so ferocious that Annabeth immediately lost consciousness. Percy had seen the smile, but it was just the innocent smile of a little girl.

However, Annabeth collapsing was not a trick. He grabbed her as she fell, and tried shouting, are you alright, what happened, and so on, but there was no reply. She was breathing, but just barely.

The adorable girl whispered loudly, "Woah, incredible!"

With her full voice, still adorable, she exclaimed, "Just as expected, even the girl was strong enough to live. Mister, your girlfriend is really strong!"

Though Percy was a bit confused, he still replied, "Oh, thank you, but she isn't my girlfriend, she's my... hmm, what would be okay for a little girl to hear?" He quietly mused.

"Your slave?" the cute girl suggested.

"No no, she likes to think that, but- wait, what!?"

The innocent girl did not lose any of her purity in Percy's eyes, but her words were obscene.

"Do not think we gods of the Mountain did not hear your little rant earlier today. Hoho, really now, Mister, you sure are arrogant. However, I guess I can agree that your slave really does stand at the pinnacle of mortals, if she was able to withstand such an attack."

"Hold up. What now? What's your name, little girl?"

"While I greatly enjoy being referred to as a little girl by most beings, somehow from you it sounds like an insult. Almost like you really believe it. Amazing. Such impertinence. It's so... sexy."

"WHAT!? Don't say that, little girl, you'll be tainted!" Percy involuntarily shuddered when he heard the kindergartener call him sexy.

Somehow, either through exceptional ignorance or unbelievable impertinence, he had not yet arrived at the conclusion that this girl was a god.

"Tainted? Please. But I must give credit where credit is due, I suppose." The little girl sounded just as cute as the first word she spoke, Her visage was likewise still just as cute.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Percy asked, still oblivious to the divine presence in front of him.

"Well, even though I sent my most powerful killing intent directly at you, from point blank range, you didn't so much as blink. Even your little slave passed out instantly. Were she any less powerful, anyone other than herself, she would surely have died. Many apologies, I sometimes forget ants when conversing with people. But you acted as if you didn't even notice my power. How is that possible? Anyway, I didn't come here to test you or your lovers of the night. I, Hebe, goddess of youth, just came to talk."

Percy stopped listening after he thought the girl had intentionally hurt Annabeth. He didn't hear her say she was a goddess. The spirit, however, did hear this. The spirit stayed silent for now, waiting for his opportunity to strike.

"Huh? Killing intent? Wait, did you hurt Annabeth?"

"Yes, duh, Mister."

Perseus's eyes glinted darkly. It looked as if his soul had left his body. This little girl was still as cute and adorable as ever. But she was the enemy. She hurt Annabeth, so she could not be forgiven. Perseus could not feel the presence of any water in this room, nor his surroundings. He couldn't even sense the presence of the ocean outside. Strange. On the first floor... At any rate, without water, he was as good as weaponless. Well, almost. He had a back up weapon. He could tell this child was stronger than Luke. Many dozens of times stronger, hundreds even. He could not win without a weapon. However, with a weapon...

He estimated his chances to be less than a thousandth of one percent.

Perseus did not hesitate. She hurt Annabeth. She must be punished. This was not an opinion. This was fact. This was an undeniable, immutable law of dealing with Percy Jackson. Hurt those he loved, and you would be punished. It was that simple.

Though Perseus was a mortal, he was the son of a combat oriented god. Hebe, the goddess of youth, who stood before him, could be said to be the opposite of a combat oriented god. As a goddess, even a weak one in terms of combat, even a minor one, minor enough to be given to Heracles as his wife when he ascended to godhood for no apparent reason, her killing intent was enough to definitively kill any mortal she came across. Annabeth was the first ordinary case demigod, so to speak, who dared survive Hebe's killing intent.

But Perseus was no ordinary case.

Perhaps due to the bizarre meddlings of Aphrodite, perhaps due to some extraordinary circumstance, he had formed an unshakeable bond between himself and Annabeth Chase. He loved her to the point where he would not hesitate between a choice between her and the survival of humanity. Coupled with his ridiculously strong sense of loyalty, it could be said that it was indeed an immutable fact of life that those who harmed the beloved of Percy Jackson would be punished for their indiscretions, without regard to any other factor.

Even without access to seawater, even without access to any water at all, even without access to the spirit who resided within him. Even with nothing but himself, any and all who harmed her would pay the price.

This would be true against a mosquito or the creator of the universe. If someone who was loved by the man known as the Savior of the Undetermined was harmed, those who perpetrated it would be obliterated indiscriminately.

Perseus's rage prevented him from hearing anything but the blood pounding in his ears. At a time like this, the importance placed on the odds of victory was not a single iota. Perseus made his move.

Perseus's fingernail on his right hand was slightly longer than the others. The reason why is inconsequential, but its worth was monumental. As Perseus swiped his right hand across his left wrist with the speed of lighting (or so it seemed to Perseus), the veins were ruptured and crimson blood flowed out. Time was not slowed down in any way. Perseus was not doused in water, so he had no unnatural speed. Time was not slowed down at all. But this was meaningless.

As the blood flowed from his left hand, he formed it into a sword, hardened it, and grabbed with his right hand. It was not as sharp as celestial bronze. It was not as hard as even iron. There was absolutely no way the goddess could ever be defeated by this weapon.

However.

The goddess Hebe's eyes began to tear up. She sank to the ground. Her cute voice was entirely defeated, and had no life.

"I... surrender... my life is yours... do with me as you please..."

Sitting on the floor with her legs splayed slightly to either side of her body, the once proud goddess of youth looked like a broken doll. There was no energy in her words. She could not move a muscle. If the man known as Perseus Jackson were to attempt to behead her on the spot, not only would she have no objection, she doubted she would be able to move a single inch to defend herself.

To those who have never seen battle, what had occurred would be incredibly difficult to describe.

No, it would be impossible to describe. It was inconceivable. The mortal who was not even close to his strongest, the man whose ability was reduced quite literally by a factor of over 15,000, the man who even at his maximum strength would have only been able to win fifty percent of the battles with this goddess, had utterly defeated her without even attempting a single blow.

For those heavily involved with hand to hand combat, the scene was infinitely easier to understand. From the moment Annabeth collapsed by her hand, Hebe had absolutely no chance of obtaining victory.

The reasons for this were two. The first was a difference in motives. In a fight between someone whose sole objective was slight personal amusement and one whose sole objective was vengeance, even a large gap in power could easily be overcome.

But the power between them was too great for this to be the sole reason.

The second reason was that Hebe could not have possibly comprehended the fact that Perseus was going to fight her. Never would she dream of a mortal, even one as impertinent as him, attacking her, a cute six year old as well as an immortal goddess. Even if her will was like a steel cable, at the time of the attack, it had been slack, and offered significantly less resistance.

With this, Perseus was able to subjugate the goddess.

But how precisely was it done?- that is the question the people who have never feared for their lives may ask.

It was simple.

It was the same as what had defeated Annabeth.

Pure killing intent.

Put simply, killing intent was the indomitable will that was transmitted to opponents. It announced 'We will fight, and you will die.' That was the most common feeling demigods describe.

However, it could be said that the more complicated the sentiment, the weaker the killing intent would be. 'If we engage in battle, it will become evident I will be the victor and you will be the loser' could never compete with 'I will kill you.'

If one well versed in battle were to watch the battle between Percy Jackson and Hebe from a safe distance, it would not be a stretch for them to translate their killing intents into totally, humongously different leagues.

As Hebe approached Percy and Annabeth, her killing intent was along the lines of, 'You will fall.'

When she reached them and smiled, her killing intent read 'You are dead.'

Percy was entirely immune to the effects of such weak killing intent. This was due largely to his complete and utter obvliviousness, as well had amplified impertinence. What did it matter to him if someone wanted to kill him? Such complete negation of killing intent without similar intent was not something any living being, mortal or immortal, could achieve. Before now. Percy was alone at the zenith of this mountain that others could not even begin to climb, much less conquer.

This goddess could have well killed any mortal on earth aside from these two with this intent. But it was not nearly enough for Percy to even notice. He found it cute.

As killing intent grew stronger, the number of words and length and simplicity of the translation compressed. This means there was a world of difference between Hebe's 'You will fall' and 'You are dead' killing intents, despite the fact they seemed relatively equal when compared with the difference between a five and ten word killing intent. The difference between 'You will fall' and 'You are dead' was enormous. The change from future to present tense alone was huge, coupled with the fact that the word fall was much more complicated than dead. Fall could also mean defeat, where as dead held a certain meaning. Thus, even the difference between two three word intents could be massive.

The difference between the strongest three word intent and the weakest two word intent was likewise a massive difference in favor of the two word.

Any one word intent would certainly be enough to kill anything not immortal. Intents like 'Fall,' 'Lose,' 'Kneel,' these were killing intents that mortal warriors could never hope to possess, much less counter. The only thing that could fully counter killing intent was equal or stronger killing intent. Annabeth, who possessed massive pride, held a massive killing intent, among mortals. The one she attempted to project to defend herself was along the lines of 'I will defeat you.' This, compared even with 'You will fall,' was next to useless. It saved her from certain death, but she kept not even her consciousness.

However.

The most perfect of all killing intents, the most powerful of one word intents, was something only combat oriented major gods held. This was how they defended the Olympian Council. Any usurpers would be severely weakened by the intent, and lost their ability to challenge the council. Against the six combat oriented Olympians(Zeus, Poseidon, Ares, Athena, Artemis, Apollo)' killing intents, no challenger could stand before them.

No mortal could ever hope to achieve such a perfect killing intent. The one every killing intent attempted to imitate, the one which derived the term, the one which was famous amongst warriors.

Aside from infallible faith in one's abilities, along with the skill to back it up, it could only be achieved with perfect unity of the mind, every aspect of oneself united in a single goal. Even then, no fear, no heed for the consequences, no silly pretenses like protecting someone else, none of these things could be held in any degree if one were to hone such a perfect mastery of the art as to possess the ultimate killing intent.

Percy had none but pretenses. He promised he would protect Annabeth. However, seeing her crumpled on the ground, he left the promise in the dust. Every particle of his being burned with concentrated hate, focused on a single point. His every action exuded perfect efficiency towards the goal of ending his opponent's life, of seeking vengeance for his beloved.

This is why it would be so easy for a veteran warrior to determine the outcome of the exchange.

At the time Perseus's killing intent reached Hebe, due to complacency hers had dropped as low as 'If you attack, you will fail.' It was still enough to instill fear in the heart of anyone but Percy. Even this six word, two phrase intent would be enough to reach the heart of any intelligent being. All but one.

This mortal adolescent, as he cut open his own flesh and summoned forth a sword of his own blood, every movement he made, his entire face and body, his mind, his heart, his soul, and especially his eyes, screamed a single word. The strongest word. It was a simple command. The most straightforward, concise intention possible. Utter perfection.

 **Die.**

Faced with such perfection, the life drained from Hebe. How could she save herself from one with such focus? It didn't matter how he had obtained it. In her mind she knew his sword could not harm her, but rationality had left the goddess entirely. All thoughts drained from Hebe's mind. Her entire divine energy was utterly spent in preventing her soul from relenting to Perseus Jackson's demand.

Every ounce of her strength had been devoted to her protection. If he were to repeat his intent, she would fade from the world entirely. She was certain. At the moment, she was a powerless as a real human 6 year old girl. A minor, noncombat goddess could not withstand this type of punishment, this immense power that seemed as if it flowed directly from the Olympian council, this direct command. It was all she could do to disobey even a single time. She could never hope to stand against this man. She could only beg with the rest of her strength, only pray. Only pray to this man. Yes, all she could do was worship this incredible man who had routed her so thoroughly. As soon as she recovered enough power, she would immediately change her form to the one he most desired. His every wish would be her command. There was no question. Her loyalty to this man who had defeated her without a single blow from his sword was absolutely unshakeable. She was convinced even the killing intent of all the council at once would not be as difficult to withstand as the intent from this one, lowly mortal.

No. No. No. No. No. She frantically mentally punished herself for continuing to believe such a thing about this existence. It was a crime that could not be forgiven even through death to believe this being before her was a lowly mortal. Surely, he was greatest among the gods. Even the creator of the universe would surely fall beneath his might. She lightly joked in her mind, weakly. There was no creator of the universe. Khaos was erased when the universe emerged from it. For there was order. Here. This man was order. This man was surely greater than the gods, greater than all the gods combined. Even the fates could not withstand his almighty power.

Surely... surely she was still breathing because this man had spared her. Any more killing intent whatsoever and she would have ceased to exist. Such a thing could not possibly be the result of luck. Yes, it must be the benevolence of her great master that allowed her to retain her life. It was by his grace she was not erased from existence. It would be treason of the highest order to do anything with the rest of her life but serve her master. It was decided. He would be her master. She would be his slave. She was so happy. So happy she finally had meaning to her existence. Tears filled her eyes. She finally understood. Her whole life was in preparation for this moment. It was all training to be the slave of her master. Her mind was completely addled. Broken. She lost all rationality when faced with such unreasonable might. With her last vestiges of power, she spoke, not even able to inject any liveliness or emotion into her speech.

"I... surrender... my life is yours... do with me as you please..."

Percy blinked. Huh?

"If... if you wish it... master... I will be... your slave..."

What. the. fuck. Percy couldn't believe his ears. His blood sword immediately fell to the ground, but he didn't notice.

Another person wanted to be his slave? And this time it was a six year old girl!? He did not think about his answer at all.

"Absolutely not! One person who wants to be a slave is already way more than enough! It's already too much! There's no way I can accept another one! Especially not a six year old girl! No way!"

Hebe closed her eyes. If she had any power left to feel emotion, she would have been fully crushed. If her master did not want her, what reason was there to continue staining her master's world with her meaningless existence?

"Then... I shall... die now... master..."

Hebe gradually started to let go of her immortal soul. She wished she could leave her master faster, to provide him with the one satisfaction she could bring him even slightly more quickly. But she had lived for so long... it was not that she wanted to remain in the world of the living, it was just impossible to relinquish something held so long so quickly.

As she spoke her final words, she finally let go of her divine soul. Her authority she held as goddess of youth remained within her, for it was not connected with her immortal soul, but rather her essence. People still worshiped her. A few. Just one, actually. Her daughter, was the only person left in this world who prayed to the goddess Hebe for guidance. What would she think of her mother now... surely she too would wish to become even a slave to this supreme being. It was only logical to this defeated goddess. She was not sure if she would be able to hold on to her authority if another immortal were to try to claim it for their own, as her new mortal soul was not nearly strong enough to retain her hold on it. It could be possible if she were insanely strong, like her master, but she could not possibly claim her mortal soul was at all comparable to her master's. Though their mortal souls were roughly the same age, she was nothing more than a human. Her master was the strongest demigod to ever live. Her own mortal soul could not even be compared to the demigoddess slave her master already possessed. Even that upstart slave possessed a soul in an entirely different league from this one. This body would age half as fast, but her soul actually held power much weaker than that of even an ordinary human. She was so horrendously weak that she was doubted she'd be able to lift more than a single pound. She could eat, sleep... not much else. A sword would require twice as much strength as she possessed to even hold. A gallon of milk... she could forget about it. It was a good thing she was about to relinquish her life, for she could not possibly be of any use to her master in this state.

Percy saw before him a six year old girl transform into a sixteen year old girl. But, the little girl had been a redhead and a bit tan, but this girl had startlingly white hair, that ran down to her hips in waves, and skin almost as fair. Both her hair and skin seemed almost glowing. Of course, it was not much compared to the little girl's presence, with her fiery red hair that seemed like a flame that could never burn out, and a vigorous cuteness that only little kids with boundless energy could show.

This new girl was in the same position as the little one, which looked a bit odd to Percy, but he could at least tell that this girl was very... well endowed. Her bust threatened to escape from the chiton that was clearly too small, and her waist and hips were... even better. Her face was not in his field of view, but he immediately knew it would be on par with Annabeth. Yes, it seemed this girl was Annabeth's equal in every regard.

He told himself he could not possibly think these things. That little girl had just offered to become his slave, and he refused, and she told him she would kill herself. Then she disappeared and this new girl took her place. Was the little girl dead? Or was she still in here? The girl had been so cute, he couldn't believe she was dead. But if she was, and this one too wanted death just because he would not let her be his slave... he had to save her. Convince her, somehow. He would do anything to save her.

"...goodbye, master..."

Percy wasted not even a second. Actually, this was not truly Percy. This could not be said to be the same person as the Percy who treated everyone equally. This-yes. This could be none other than Perseus. This was the spirit and Percy, working together. Combined knowledge and skill, working as one. An entity different from either the spirit or Percy, Perseus could be said to be the ultimate fusion of the two. Percy's care for everyone, and the spirit's temperament and ability to ignore anything in pursuit of his goal. This was who had exuded such dangerous killing intent, not Percy. When Percy's soul darkened when he heard Hebe had hurt Annabeth on purpose, the spirit had seized its opportunity to take over.

See, the deal the spirit made with Percy was a complete sham. The spirit did not have the authority to take total control of Percy's body unless Percy allowed him too. But because the spirit had the irksome tendency to be overly honest for dramatic effect, Percy discovered it was an evil spirit. Percy would never allow him to take control. The so called week a year was just a diversion. As soon as Percy allowed the spirit to take over, the spirit would never let go. But the spirit knew that because of Percy's loyal personality, he would do anything in his power to resist the spirit's control. In reality, only the desire to retain control of the body was enough to prevent the spirit from trying anything. So, when Percy's soul darkened, and lost all desires other than revenge, the spirit made its move. When would it have a better chance?

But it was not strong enough. This failure resulted in the creation of a third personality, entirely separate from Percy and the spirit. It possessed the full power of both, and combined both personalities and knowledge. This perfect harmony created a new, perfect being, so to speak.

Perseus was an amalgamation of personality traits. However, entirely opposing traits could not coexist. Percy's humble nature and the spirit's arrogance could not both exist within Perseus. It was essentially random whose trait was taken in these cases.

The amplifying ability of the spirit, all of Percy's abilities, the nature that cared for everyone from Percy, the arrogance of the spirit. The kindness towards the weaker, from Percy, the bloodthirstiness of the spirit. This new personality lost the ability to understand protection. Perseus replaced Percy's brand of loyalty by protection with a new type of loyalty, loyalty through vengeance. Perseus had no fear, he lacked any hesitation, was as cunning as the spirit, and as impertinent as Percy. It seemed like an older, more mature anti hero form of Percy. And it was this man who was able to exude such a perfect killing intent. This was who defeated Hebe. Perseus inherited Percy's fierce love of Annabeth, but it seemed the spirit had a side he kept hidden. He was easily smitten. Perseus immediately fell in love with the beautiful new Hebe. He would have her as his wife, since he could not have Annabeth. Annabeth had sworn loyalty to Percy, not Perseus. Perseus desperately wanted a wife, and he longed for Annabeth, but could not have her. He would continue to long for her, but he also inherited the spirit's sense of romance. Or perhaps they shared this trait, which was why he felt it so strongly? Only one woman could never satisfy him. So the loss of Annabeth was not a great matter. He would take this new, incredibly weak woman to be his wife. There would be no argument from anyone. If Percy could be said to act with kindness even when it clashed with his own desires, Perseus was held back by no such restraint.

If Perseus wanted something, Perseus would take it. If Perseus wished for Hebe to live, then Perseus would simply make it impossible for her to die.

"I forbid it, one-who-was-once-Hebe. You now belong to me, so I forbid it entirely. If you die, you will be betraying your master in the highest degree. Betrayal so great, death could not atone. Tell me, for I would like to know... how exactly would you be able to atone for your betrayal once dead?"

It was a simple question. Emotion overwhelmed the new human. Anger and happiness exploded in a shower of tears. Gratitude that her master cared about her after all, anger he had waited until she lost her immortality. She quashed the anger. It would certainly not be permitted for one so weak as herself to be upset towards her absolute master and beloved's actions. He must have a reason. As the true supreme being, it could be no other way. Understanding what he wanted her to say, Hebe mustered her voice, and spoke. Her new voice was sultry, to say the least. Even emotionless, even the most resistant towards womanly charm would have crumbled before her new seductive power.

"There is no way I could atone, master. I will live to serve you. I will be your slave from now on. For the insolence I have already shown, even this may not ever be enough."

Perseus smiled gently and shook his head. Perseus always had his way. He did not want to take her as a slave, but as his bride. Perseus's will would be done.

"No, it is not so. If you spend your life in servitude, you would certainly earn my forgiveness. However."

The hopeful new Hebe had a puppy dog look until Perseus said however, at which point a look of hopeless devastation returned to her body which was gradually absorbing power from Perseus, who was exuding magical energies as a result of his return. When he completed his thought, Hebe looked as if she may die from happiness.

"However, it is extremely unsightly for a man to ask for his slave's hand in marriage. This is why I hereby release you from your solemn vow of servitude. In return..."

The new-Hebe was crying thoroughly, not sobbing, but weeping tears of joy. She could not keep herself from smiling, though it was disrespectful to her former master for her to assume she knew his thoughts. This was why she waited for him to finish.

"In return, will you marry me?"

Perseus had bent down on one knee, offering his hand in place of a ring.

The new Hebe put one hand over her mouth to prevent her from openly sobbing, nodded quickly, and grasped her beloved's hand.

Perseus pulled her to him, used water control to instantly remove all the fluid from her beautiful face. Tears only marred her perfect countenance. As he kissed her ruby lips deeply, something incredibly strange happened.

A great power suddenly left the new Hebe and flowed directly into Perseus. It was the authority she had held onto. Having found a suitable bearer, it immediately left Hebe and took up residence within Perseus. As the same number of people worshiped Perseus and her, each at one, Hebe worshiped by her daughter, Perseus worshiped by Hebe, the authority chose the stronger host. This direct physical contact made it easy for the authority over youth to be transferred. But Perseus was... was he truly an entity? Wouldn't the authority be absorbed by Percy instead?

No, it was definitely Perseus. He felt the authorities Hebe had ruled over become distinctly his own. He could not relinquish this power to Percy even had he wished to do so, which he did not. However, he had had no idea this was possible. Such a thing was utterly unprecedented. As he did not understand it, he ignored it, and continued to kiss his beloved fiancee. However, she grew faint in his arms.

"My love, what is wrong?"

"Perseus, I... I am too weak... I cannot remain conscious when engaging in such a strenuous activity. I am so sorry."

Perseus understood. His aptitude as a warrior was utterly perfect. The skills of Perseus combined with the knowledge and experience of the spirit, he was utterly unstoppable. He could also judge others' fighting aptitudes with great accuracy. The woman who was to become his wife was weak. Unimaginably so. A kitchen knife would be too much for her. It was not surprising kissing was considered to be a strenuous activity by her. Troublesome. He wanted to continue. But someone's constitution was something even he needed to abide by.

"Pay it no mind, my love. When you regain your strength, we shall continue."

"Perseus, please, give me my new name. I cannot bear not hearing my beloved call my name. My old one was tied to my immortal soul, but my mortal soul never received a name. As her husband's property, a wife with no name should receive their name directly from him."

Perseus inherited Percy's belief on whether a wife was her husband's property, to which the answer was quite obviously no. He informed her of as much.

"My love, it is not so. In days long past your words were true, but no longer. Marriage has become a union of two equals. Worth is not the same as strength. I am vastly stronger than you, but as living, intelligent beings, we are worth the same. Engrave this upon your heart so that I may never hear such pitiful words from the mouth of my beloved again. You are not my property any longer. I cannot control you with a clear conscious with anything but my love."

"I am so sorry, Perseus. Please forgive my rudeness. I will always stay by your side, not as property, but as one of your beloved women. Please, may we swear our oaths to each other now? I know not how much longer it is possible to wait."

"Very well, but first, I shall give you your name. You were once Hebe, goddess of youth. I name you, Wisteria, for the cascading white flower that intoxicates all with its scent. With your voice you draw others in, and your hair rains down upon your back, pure white, as lovely as anything can be allowed. I name you this."

Wisteria could scarcely believe it.

This supreme being, this Perseus, who she decided would be her master, saved her life, freed her from her self imposed slavery, bestowed upon her a beautiful name, and was about to take her as his first wife. She wept openly from the indescribable joy. She had caused such an existence an inconvenience, and should have been wiped from the face of the planet. Instead... so much has happened.

"I also bestow upon myself a new name. I cast off my progenitor's surname, and instead take on the name of my birth. I was born of the need to punish the one known as Hebe, now gone. Therefor, my new name shall be Perseus Hebektasia, Perseus, Hebe-killer!"

Perseus, for some reason, was never embarrassed, no mater how ridiculous he was being. It could be said to be his greatest, perhaps his only, flaw.

"Wisteria, my love. Please continue to never be ashamed of tears, no matter the source. I shall be the one to dry your eyes. If someone were into injure you, or use you in any way, rest assured I will promptly remove their utter existence from this reality. This I swear, on my name, Perseus Hebektasia. I hereby take you as my wife. I shall love you eternally."

"Then Perseus, my love. Please avenge me if I were to suffer. Please take care of me from now on. I swear upon the river Styx to love you eternally, to be obedient forever, to never spill a single secret, to never show another man affection, to never cause you pain, to be loyal for all eternity. This I swear, by the Styx and by the name my husband has given me, Wisteria Hebektasia. I give you myself to be your wife."

Perseus kissed his wife deeply, but felt he would soon return to being Percy and the spirit once again. He needed to inform his wife, and make mental preparations. Percy would retain the memories of thinking these things, but he could not think like Perseus. His judgment did not come from as much vast knowledge as the spirit, unlike Perseus. Percy would think what he would do in Percy's situation, not what Perseus would do.

"Wisteria, this is very important. In a few short minutes, I will cease to be. Do not fret. I will be back before the sun sets tomorrow. I would never leave my wife on her own if I could help it. But you must know that the one called Percy, who will inhabit this body while I am gone, is absolutely not me. If you show him affection, even if it is an accident, the Styx will treat is as breaking an oath. With your constitution, it wouldn't be impossible for it to be fatal. I would never accept such an end for my beloved first wife. Percy may treat all his wives equally, but you will always hold the dearest place in my heart, Wisteria. So be proud, proud of the love of Perseus. Percy is a great man as well, but he is nothing like me. Even if I am half him, and half another, I am nothing at all like either of them. Regardless of whether Percy is a great man, I am sure you will not find him agreeable. He will likely irritate you greatly. Please, forgive his stupidity. Also, regarding his slave, Annabeth. He does not recognize her position as such, except while making love. Though, it is only for her benefit then. But if you refer to her as such, there will be great backlash from him. He may yell, and hurt my precious wife's ears. You cannot protect yourself from him, so please do not provoke him. It would be better if you cooperate, and stay where he is not at other times. I will instruct him to care for you, since you are much too weak to do it yourself. In other instances, always act according to your oaths on the Styx. You have made me happy beyond belief by swearing them, though I fear your safety. Additionally, since he and I wear the same face, it will only be I who will refer to you as Wisteria. He may call you Hebektasia, or something else, but when you hear the name I have given you, know it is me. My time is running short. Remember what I have told you. I will return before the sun sets tomorrow. I love you, Wisteria."

"I love you, too, Perseus."

The two kissed for several seconds before Perseus pulled away.

"I would like Percy to never feel your lips. Forgive me. Goodbye."

Percy shook his head. He exuded a totally different aura from before. Though his body had not moved a single muscle, it was abundantly clear his aura was wildly different. It was not at all confident, nor cool, nor heroic, or anything Wisteria loved about Perseus. Indeed, she could not imagine just what parts of Perseus were made from this boy. She puffed out her cheeks and turned her head to the side.

"Sheesh, Hebektasia, what'd I ever do to you? It's not like I can lay a hand on you."

Wisteria looked at the body of her husband briefly, but returned her stare to across the room.

"By the way, Hebektasia... Where are we? There's no staircase, and there's no bunk beds, either. Can we even get back?"

Wisteria narrowed her eyes. What a fool this boy was. He was not even one tenth the man her husband was. No, it was possible that they were on entirely separate scales in the first place. Percy Jackson was a powerful 16 year old demigod. Perseus Hebektasia was a supreme being of ultimate power, with thousands of years of knowledge and experience. Comparing the two was totally unfair. Still, she harbored great resentment towards the one her husband was forced to yield to.

"Of course, little fool. The bane of illusion magic is awareness. Once you know you're in an illusion, the spell will break. Perseus would have known that. As long as you don't move, there is no danger. We're standing in the same place you were when you came upstairs."

Suddenly, the air shimmered and the grotesque scene from earlier returned, with the racecar beds and everything.

The girl called Dawn was standing in front of them. She was the daughter of Hebe. She was 16 years old. Now the same age as her mother, and her... this was going to be complicated.

"Hey, Percy... what happened to Annabeth? And who's... that... I feel like I know her from somewhere, but I can't figure it out..."

Wisteria answered. "Well, that is simple, Dawn. It's because I am closely related to Hebe."

Dawn's eyes widened, but Percy interjected, "Hebektasia, don't give her any wild ideas. Let me finish this chapter off with a cool sort of cliffhanger one liner thing, okay?"

Dawn froze when she heard the name of this beautiful girl. Hebektasia in ancient Greek carried the meaning, 'Hebe Slaughterer.' This could not be good. If she was strong enough to kill her mother... Dawn's mind raced.

Percy continued.

"Please don't be worried, Dawn. This woman didn't kill your mother. Sort of. I guess she did, but it's getting in the way of the one liner, so just forget about it. You see, what happened was that, in a way... I sort of... became your stepfather."

"...dammit, it was totally ruined, I just sounded lame. Perseus wouldn't have sounded so damn cringeworthy if he said it. Son of a bitch."

 **Hahahahahahahahaha!**

 **So... this story is fucking insane, right? I mean, it's still day 1. Percy hasn't slept a wink since he woke up yesterday afternoon. He liberated the Undetermined, killed Luke, made a contract with the Fates themselves, became literally immortal, then molded together with the spirit to become his alter ego, who then married the first woman he saw within five minutes while somehow managing to make it sound romantic. What the fuck just happened? I seriously don't know. The plan was for this to happen much later in the story, and his alter ego wasn't even planned. He just happened.**

 **These things do tend to occur when one writes recklessly. Honestly, the MC has gone to sleep three times this whole story and it's already over 50k words. What the fuck is going on here?**

 **It's utterly absurd.**

 **But Perseus is so cool isn't he? I didn't even cringe when writing him. I was like 'no yeah he's fuckin cool as shit absolutely this chick becomes his slave in a matter of seconds and he marries her five minutes later. Isn't it obvious that would happen?**

 **So, clearly, there's gonna be a harem off. Who gets pulled to the magnetic anti-heroism of Perseus the Godslaughterer, and who gets pulled into the comfort of Percy the Protector? The battle begins 1-1, Annabeth vs. Wisteria, evaluated by Percy and Perseus to be equally beautiful (I prefer pale girls to tan girls so Wisteria wins in a heartbeat for me, lol, sounds weird now that I'm writing it.). I'm guessing that ordinary girls and girls with older sensibilities will fall for Perseus, while exceptional women (excluding insane ex-goddesses) and more modern women will fall for Percy, but seriously even I don't know. The appearance of Perseus has me scrambling.**

 **BTW Hebe + ktasia comes from the Androktasiai which translates to man-slaughterers, singular androktasia, so I took a gamble and said adding -ktasia made the word into blank slaughterer. I don't think anybody here speaks ancient greek, but if you do, I'd love to here what you think his last name should really be.**

 **Anyways, wondering what Perseus's one liner would have been?**

 **"Ah, hello there, Dawn. My name is Perseus Hebektasia, and this is my wife, Wisteria Hebektasia. It seems that, due to a series of fascinating circumstances, I have become your stepfather. It is wonderful to make your acquaintance."**

 **Notice how it was actually four sentences? That's because Perseus ain't a li'l bitch.**

 **Wow this took forever to edit, holy shit.**

 **Remember, review or I'll kill you.**


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